I promised a bubble skirt and here it is -hot pink with orange lining.



The pattern is from "Making Kids Clothes" (again), the fabric is from Fabric and Pretty Things (The Trelise Cooper Fabric store, again). Embroidery Anglais is now my friend, and I want one in my size. Yet another piece in Rebekah's Putting Idea Books to Use.

Slowly, but surely I have got there. This is my 200th post and it has taken little over 2 years. At first it was a secretive thing, with only my dearest knowing that I was writing. Now I count even my mother amongst my readers.

At first I imagined myself as a bit of a Clark Kent, but around the other way – a super hero mum by day and secret squirrel craft blogger by night. I even imagined being the Super Hero Mum would be easy. I carried on writing on the sly, not telling the friends I see from day to day, not telling my mother and certainly not telling any relatives that know anything about grammar. Now that I’m not a Super Hero Mum (never was, it was all a fantasy), the walls between my writing and life have gradually come down. My alter ego is really just me, but with a keyboard in hand. I don’t mind telling my friends that I blog.

It took 6 months to let Mum in on the secret. Someone, at a family lunch, asked what I had been up to and all of a sudden Mum was asking “What’s a blog?” She started taking a peek to see what I was making. While visiting friends, she would google seven-stitches to show them my quilts. Eventually she started to read too. Now she recommends me to her crafty friends and colleagues. This is high praise as far as I am concerned.

Even higher praise, was when a friend sheepishly admitted that she had been reading along for a while. She was reading, chuckling and calling her husband over to read too. I was delighted. Julia, you made my day.

I am excited to get to my 200th post. So much has changed. I can now proudly share these ramblings with people I see from day to day. For those I don’t tell, I'm sure my mother is spreading the news far and wide.

The Graffiti Knitting was great fun. I find myself looking at neglected things in a new light and wondering – Would that cabbage tree be warmer with some tree warmers? Could a picket fence do with some egg cosy hats? Perhaps some everlasting crocheted roses for the naked ones in winter?



We pulled the bees down on the Monday night. It was much easier than putting them up and the long handled bolt loppers helped. I consider the bees to be lovingly rain washed and ready for another use.


The piece at the top suffered from a little too much weather. After carefully removing the cardboard back, squeezing out the felted wool, a bit of a press and some gunstapling, it was at the end of our driveway, waiting to be picked up and reinstated. I like the idea of LOVE being rescued.