Sago on Tuesdays: February 2009

Aaaargh - it's a pirate party!

So, my now 4 year old is having his first REAL birthday party, and we are going all out! No toys for presents this year (we already have too many, really) so his pressies are piratey party things, like a flag for his wall, a pirate doona cover (which we are using as a tablecloth for the party, then I'll wash and bind for use on the bed), fancy pirate hats and foam daggers, and .....

PIRATE BUNTING :o)

So, I checked out some net sites for methods of making bunting, but to be honest, they all seemed like just too much trouble. Making bias-binding, turning out and all that jazz... Hmmm... must be an easier way....

After a glass of red, a story with my toddler and a little thinking time, I came up with my own stress-free bunting solution. I'll put it into a tutorial on my sidebar once I figure out how! For now, here it is as a post..

STEP 1: Cut fabrics of your choice (I chose two piratey designs, with one of them a thicker canvas-type fabric so I can avoid using interfacing) into about 8.5 inch strips (but you can choose the size you prefer)

STEP 2: Layer the front and back fabrics with WRONG SIDES FACING (yes, you read correctly)

STEP 3: Decide how 'pointy' you want your bunting (I chose 45 degrees at the point) and mark out a triangle on your ruler with masking tape so you can easily rotary cut along the strip.

STEP 4: With a pinking blade on your rotary cutter (mine was $6 at a local craft store), cut through both layers, keeping them together. Do this along the strip, putting the bit at the end into your scrap bag :o) This step avoids turning out and re-sewing (yeehaa!). Besides, the wavy edge looks cute.

STEP 5: With a pin in the point to keep the layers together, sew down along the pinked edge to the point, then turn and go up the other side. No need to sew along the top straight edge.

DON'T CUT THE THREAD AND START AGAIN! KEEP THE BITS TOGETHER IN A 'CHAIN-PIECED' GROUP for as many as you would like to be on the same length of bunting. This makes sewing them together later MUCH quicker :o) Alternate which fabric is on top if you want the final bunting to show both fabrics along each side (see picture below).

[don't you just LOOOOVE chain-piecing!!]

STEP 6: Take a length of woven cotton tape (I chose red, but the ordinary cream sort is just fine) enough for all the flags, plus about 20-30 cms extra at either end. Make it the wider sort - about 2.5 cms. Fold it in half over the tops of the flags (this is where you will be glad you chain/string-pieced) and sew through (either right from the end, or just from where the flags start). I back-sewed over each edge of the flags, to be sure they don't pull out with little hands tugging at them.

So that's 1 down, and 7 to go. I think these will be my signature kids gift for this year :o)

So, what do you think? Nifty? Piratey? Easy?

The wild smell of fennel

Well, what a smell - if you like licorice, then the aroma of ripening wild fennel seeds will get your tastebuds tingling!

In our pursuit for 'Weeds for food' around our local area, we have started using wild fennel seeds in teas and fish marinades, potato and green bean salad, and dressing as well. I have the seeds hanging up in the kitchen in a paper bag, and are drying off very nicely.

Wait until they are full and plump on the bush, and starting to dry off a bit, then pick the floret and finish the drying at home. Otherwise, the birdies will get a gourmet lunch before you do.

We were too late to pick the plums - one day too late! The birds checked in, feasted, and checked out overnight. Oh well, there is still a drought on, so it's every man and bird for himself!

Her beauty and her terror

To some of my overseas bloggy friends, thankyou for your kind concern and emails – We are in Ballarat, which ironically, is one of the few areas of Victoria not yet affected directly by fire. It is only the second week of February (our classic fire month), so we are not out of the woods yet, but so far grateful for our luck so far and hopeful that we’ll be missed this season. Be assured, if it comes anywhere near here, we’ll be grabbing kiddies, taking our fire box (a small plastic box which is always in our hallway at this time of year, containing a hard drive of all our business, insurance photos of everything we own and digital family photos, our old photo negatives, a battery radio and our vital documents), locking the door, and getting out and well away.

Of course, if a spontaneous fire storm was to hit (which is so hot and large, it creates it’s own weather system!) the way it did in KingLake, then there is no warning at all (poor buggers), and then it is just making do at the time. Our families thoughts and prayers go out to Victorian communities so far struck by this merciless strike from mother nature.

So tragic. Still, the recovery effort and immediate response has been, in true Aussie style, giving, swift, comprehensive and with a red-tape-less, get-it-done attitude (by both private groups, individual citizens and especially government – bloody inspiring!). It’s times like these that I am terrified and proud to be Australian.

We have a famous poem in Australia. It is called My Country, written many years ago. Here it is:

My Country
by
Dorothea Mackellar
(1885 - 1968)

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die-
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold-
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land-
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand-
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

The second verse is the most well known, and contains the well-used phrase ‘Her beauty and her terror’. Her terror is what haunts us at present, and her beauty is what reminds us she’s worth striving and surviving for.

For anyone in blog-land who might feel they can donate something to help, you can make formal online contributions from anywhere in the world by going online at

www.redcross.org.au

Well, here it is - the winning result

I used the integer generator at random.org to come up with a random number between 1 and 133 (the total number of comment entries in the giveaway offer at the time the offer closed). The result was number 101. (see the screenshot below)

Looking back through the comments, that means that the winner is...

Drum roll please.....

Bella, who wrote "Ooooh, sounds fabulous. Thanks for the chance."

Congratulations Bella, your package will be bundled off to you in a jiffy - I sure hope you like it. Thanks to everyone who participated. I had a ball of fun, and can't wait for the next one.
Cheers all
~Sonya

OK, Time's up!

The comments time has closed for our great International Stash Giveaway, but stay tuned - this has been so much fun, I can't imagine it'll be too long before I want to do it again.

Oh, and while you are here, do please check out my SELVEDGE SWAFFER (swap-offer) if you are up for a little more fabric-exchange.

I'll announce the winner later today, post the result and email the winner ~ jeepers, creepers, this is very exciting. I can't wait!

Time's running out

Oooo, it's so exciting !

Just six hours or so until the International Stash giveaway is decided. So, you have until 12 midnight tonight, my time (see the clock in my sidebar) to get your comments in. Then, we close the hat, and tomorrow I'll use the Blogger Random Number Gadget to select a number of comment, which will tell us who wins. That gives plenty of time for people in Australia and overseas to get their comments in. I've been overwhelmed at the response - who would have thought that giving things away would be so much fun. It has also lead me to some great blogs to visit. I'll definitely be doing this again!

The great International Stash Giveaway

OK - so for the juicy details..

On Wednesday February 4th, I will be delving into fabrics from my stash to find goodies to give away, as part of the genius swappy-day. YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE FROM KATY, THE LEAD-SWAPPER.

My stash-pack will include quilting fabric, vintage fabric, buttons and vintage notions

Basically, I have some stuff I don't need that you might like, and if you comment on this post saying you're interested I'll pick some names at random tomorrow for a couple of people to win it. If you do enter, please make sure there's either a blog link or an email address in your comment - if I can't contact you, then I 'll have to draw another name - sorry :o)
I will post internationally too, so don't let that stop you.

So, here is the list of links to other bloggy-stash-busting-chicks (oops, maybe some dudes in there too - sorry) for you to enjoy visiting.

Salutations to a cold weather chair

My hubby's grandmother's art deco rolled arm low-rider chair. It's springs have sunk, and it's stuffing is lumpy; the original upholstery is too threadbare to be left uncovered, so I drape a crocheted rug over it's fragilities, and give our favourite cushions pride of place. A good friend sewed a sashiko wall hanging - for a wall, of course. I gaze at this lovely old chair so much more frequently, that the wall-hanging became a chair-hugger. It looks as though it was always there.

It's so hot here this week. 43-45 C degrees every day, and only swimming pools and public libraries to retreat to. I miss being comfortable in my own home..

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