Thrifting is fun!

I should also add a disclaimer  -  "THRIFTING IS ADDICTIVE"

Be warned.

But back to the Thrifting is Fun part!!

A few weeks ago (ok, so it's probably more like months now) I was in Esperance. I don't get to Esperance very often and it's a lovely coastal town. Gorgeous white sands, clear waters, and freezing bloody cold! They have 2 op shops I frequent whilst in town, one is a Red Cross and the other is a little church group one. I *heart* the smaller, church based opportunity shops! I often find Salvation Army, Good Samaritans and Saint Vincent De Paul extremely over priced (in the sense you could buy that child's t-shirt new for less then they are asking in the second hand store). I understand they are employing people with disabilities as well as aiding their international organisation but heck, if I can buy it cheaper new I'm going to opt for new.

Anyways, in Esperance in the little church op shop I found 3 magnificent books and my heart was all aflutter and I just wanted to brag share with someone. My friend's and family aren't really interested in my crafty endeavours so I will share with my readers. 

Tucked away by the counter and behind racks of clothing is floor to ceiling shelves and I have learnt through many visits this is the area of the shop that I want. They have some kids clothes and a few other things but the pile of knitting, crochet and other magazines is massive, they usually have a great selection of preloved sewing patterns and so many other hidden gems. This trip I found some iron on transfers with brilliant gold embossing on the covers, a heap of sewing patterns, a near new knitting book and a handful of lace and fabric remnants. Best of all, I found these...

English editions of Japanese sewing/drafting books!!!

• Baby Wear
• Cute Infants Outgrow Clothes Quickly. 58 Tots' Clothes Paired With Dolls
• Though Girls Begin To Feel More Fashion-conscious, Nothing On The Market Is Snug And Taut. Produce A Good Fashion With Mom-made Clothes  (yes, that's the title).

In the top left corner of each book it states "English Edition - Stitch House" and an abbreviated title for each

• Baby Wear
• Infants Wear - by direct cutting 
• Girl's Dresses - 8 to 13 year olds

The recommended Australian retail price was $2.85!

They are copyrighted "1984 by KAMAKURA SHOBO PUBLISHING CO.,LTD." and printed in Japan. There is no ISBN etc listed. They are each 68pages in total.

These books do not contain patterns. They do, however, instruct you how to create the patterns. Akin to Enid Gilchrist books. (see below)

I love the illustrations that accompany the patterns! Some of the wording makes me giggle too. One or two images would look great framed, but I wont be pulling apart these darling books for such simple pleasures. I ogle Japanese sewing books online all the time (the modern ones) and they are so expensive! I feel like I've just slid up on the outskirts of the in-crowd with my little treasures. Best of all, for everything I bought that day (and it was a lot, trust me) I paid about $7. Yes, total. The plastic bag I was carrying it all in barely made it the 10m back to my car, it was so heavy and hardcover books were making holes.

I especially love how the last page on the Girls Dresses book encourages the girls to sew themselves. The below picture is definitely something I could frame. I adore the simplicity of the illustrations and yet they are so  expressive.

I've been a big fan of Enid Gilchrist books for many years. Below is a photo of just 2, from very different eras, but both are modeled on the same principals. Enid's work was all about self drafting. She gave you an axis marked as 0, then working from that point she gave you the measurements to draw out the patterns yourself, and a detailed description of assembly (rather than pictorial).

I've been collecting these books for a number of years from eBay, thrift stores etc. Some are rarer than others and sell for quite a lot, some are so common they practically give them away. I even have some magazine pages from mags of the 50's and 60's where thrifty mamma's have torn the pages with her featured articles/patterns to save for use. I have some books, like the bright Baby Book (ISBN 0 908429 17 7, rec retail $2.95) pictured below, from different print runs and the one shown below is probably the most recent of all the Enid Gilchrist items I own. You can see that not only the patterns and printing methods evolved, as did a few of the patterns and the measurements moved from Imperial to Metric. Designed back when disposable nappies (diapers) were unheard of, the patterns are a little difficult in todays society. (I have friends with clothed bottomed children, my own daughter wasn't one of them and they're definitely the exception today)

I trace most of my sewing patterns anyhow, but to draw out an Enid Gilchrist pattern I use baking paper or thin sew in interfacing (Vilene) which is far more durable. Probably cheaper too when you consider its width. I place the interfacing on my quilters cutting mat and sometimes use double sided tape to keep it in place. My quilters mat is marked in inches, and most of the E.G. books I have are imperial. I just then use a ruler and pencil to measure and draw out the shapes. Seam allowances aren't included so I use a Sullivans branded seam tracer which is brilliant. I just run it along the edges which need allowances and the handy little spacer means I just trace over the lines I drew to mark out the pattern while the second pencil draws an evenly spaced line for the seams!

An Enid Gilchrist pattern from the more modern Baby Book. The older books were on paper similar to that used in modern newsprint and contained only diagrams and sketches of designs, no photographs and no interior colour.

A couple of poor photographs of a design I have drafted from an E.G. book recently (let's face it, no one visits my blog for my exquisite photography skills!)

Self drafting takes some time, but I enjoy the process. I did really well at Technical Drawing in high school (it was a compulsory component of my elective classes of Woodwork and Metalwork). I have many books teaching me how to draft my own true designs and not just mimic those such as Enid's, but I haven't yet the confidence to tackle those.

Spring is in the air for sure

Spring is in the air alright, because it's up our noses and in our eyes. Darn hayfever! I've been feeling a bit snuffly the last few days and as irritating as that's been, my lil poppet has the worse end of the deal. We went for a walk this morning, all was good. Not long after we got home she started whining, and rightly so..

Her eye was very puffy, red, itchy and all round annoying. Leaking it's stickyness all down her cheeks. I gave her some antihistamine and hoped it kicked in quick. it didn't and the eye is still slightly enlarged. Poor kid. But today she's also walked into a table and bumped her tummy, got a paper cut on her thumb and had a headache. Wow. Talk about melodrama. School resumes next week and if this is what she looks like today I can only imagine the panicked phone calls I will be getting as of

next week. Not to mention how hard it is for Jess to concentrate when all she wants to do is rub at her eyes and she can hardly see out of them because they're so gummy and feel like they are made of sandpaper. How the child manages to learn anything at all the entire school year is beyond me! She's such a little trooper, and grumble as she may she still gives it her all. You can make out the small hives under the eye too.

We had a big argument the other day (yes Jessica and I) about her attire. She had on stockings/tights and a t-shirt and I told her we were going for a walk to the shop and tights are underclothes, please put a dress over them or swap them for some pants/shorts/skirt. Basically, anything but what she was wearing. She huffed and puffed and rolled her eyes and I was starting to get quite annoyed as she'd been in one of those "ugh!" moods all week. So I yelled. And I told her "if you can't dress yourself, I will dress you!". Well, didn't that go down well :-/ I chose her a dress and she begrudgingly went and put it on and left the tights underneath. When she emerged I told her the tights had to go. More huffing and groaning and the tears were stinging her eyes but she fought them off well. I then had to brush the rats-nest that was her hair. I had bought her some lovely flower clips and a sequined headband at Cotton On Kids our last trip to Perth which she had refused to wear, so keeping with the "ok, I'll dress you" theme I decided it was about time she did. I braided a section of the front before wrapping the tail of the plait into a bun and securing with bobby pins, and sat the flower up by the bun. Then for her comfort, I neatly brushed back the remaining hair into another bun. When the heat makes you itchy the last thing you want is hair hanging down creating heat.

She cried, she yelled and she sooked something cruel about the whole process, but she looked great! When we got to the shops many people told her how lovely she looked and she was in such a foul mood she barely grunted at them. That was my patience done for! I really can't tolerate her being so blatantly rude! Needless to say we had a big discussion when we got home about how talking to people like that makes them feel bad, and it only makes you feel bad, how she needs to watch her attitude and a myriad of other things that had been bugging me that whole week (like how she sulks when she's asked to be careful with Tian and other ridiculous things). We've had a better couple of days since and when I mentioned we were going for a walk to the shop this morning, she did her best to describe what I did to her hair the other day and asked me to put it up the same today (I plaited the big bun before coiling this morning). SCORE! Sometimes I have to enforce my mother's law only for her to realise she likes it. Like denim, she flat refuses to wear it. I forced encouraged her to wear a denim pinafore while in Perth and whaddya know, she decided she likes it. She can have her independence when she's like, I dunno, a mother or something. For a little while yet she is still my little girl and I will ask her to do things my way. Like it or not. (you can still see that puffy eye)

Jessica has decided riding her bike is awful, and all but refuses to ride it. Not impressed. The last couple of mornings she's wanted to take her doll Lucy for a walk, I don't mind a bit. Until we have to stop because Lucy needs something, or Jess is cranky because the sheet is flying away in the wind (the sheet is one of Jessica's old bassinet sheets, a number of her old things were delegated to the dolls). This pram (stroller, pushchair etc) is fantastic, we bought it for her a few Christmas's ago. The handle is high, it's a good solid pram, has a basket under it and even seats for two dollies! She tried walking with the el-cheapo plastic stroller the other day and it's so low she had to walk all hunched and crouched. It looked awkward, and painful! I don't know why she still insists on using the small one. I think Lucy enjoyed tis morning's walk. I sure did.

Just for fun, a photo of Jessica showing me just one of her many (many!) tricks. She, of course, think's she's extremely clever. Thank goodness she's only fallen the once. Not like that was fun when she ended up in hospital in a makeshift neck cuff. Our swingset is used more for hanging than swinging and we have a big, dome shaped climbing frame in the backyard too. Jessi hangs from it by one hand and spins. I just cringe! I don't think human bodies are designed to do what she does. It's like she turns herself inside out somethings. The kid needs a gymnastics class to focus her energy. No chance in this town. (see all those ugly dead weeds where once there was lawn? oh what to do)

Aussie gardens, a whole new world

I was chatting to a friend from the USA during the Aussie winter, saying I needed to get out and do some gardening. She asked me quite genuinely how that was possible, did the ground not freeze too hard for that? There are so many aspects of two highly similar, advanced Western civilisations that we just don't consider. Mostly due to the concepts being so "foreign" to us. We all understand the different use of words, footpath vs sidewalk, cheque vs check, neighbour vs neighbor, but ground freezing, and using a stick of butter, canned pumpkin, not owning an electric kettle? To me, these things are extremely foreign and harder to grasp than some South American civilizations eating guinea pigs for lunch.

My Australian winter in a semi-arid landscape is extremely different to the winter my friend experiences in northern United States (forgive me a moment for forgetting which state exactly..). I have other friends in Minnesota, and even some in Alberta Canada and it's crazy talking to them when they are snowed in and their kids are home from school because the roads are impassable. Snow days? In Australia? Highly unlikely. Well, perhaps in the mountains in NSW, but since I've never been there I can't say for sure. There is one place that I am aware of that it "might" snow in Western Australia each year, Bluff Knoll. A beautiful scenic hike, I sometimes hear news stories of people being surprised by bad weather and search crews being launched to save them. But as I said, this little black duck lives inland WA, in a semi-arid (semi-desert) climate. While we have eucalypt "forests" (see, even that is a term I don't use in day to day life) much of the area around me is dry salt flats (salt lakes in my own "language" lol), and low scrub like spinifex (which wikipedia.org just corrected me by saying is actually called "triodia". But if you ever walk through this stuff, be wearing leather pants or cricketers shin pads or something. It's evil and SPIKY!).

What is the temperature range here? In winter we range from about 5C-16C, but trust me, it gets colder! This past winter we had a -6C. Bye bye anything that was once alive in the garden, the frost was so thick and heavy. In summer the average temps are more 16-32C, but again, we live semi-desert and it's not at all uncommon to have days upon days of 48C (118F). But as the Bureau of Meteorology uses statistics from all records the medians even out a lot more. Due to the salt lakes we're often on the states weather report as "lowest overnight temperature", even if that is only a -1C (30.2F). We have a dry, often windy heat. It does get humid but it's nothing compared to the tropics. Humidity usually only comes when it makes a poor effort at raining.

What I was actually getting to with this post, which has blown out beyond my imagination, was Australian gardens. I love my garden. It looks like crap because I abandoned it so long :( I've deliberately let the lawn die as Jessica is badly hay-feverish to it and it makes her eczema itch, and I've not determined what to replace it with. So far the weeds think it's heaven! It's kind of crazy that so many people here plant tropical plants like palms, and even lawn. I mean, they need so much water! We're almost always on water restrictions here, year round we can only water gardens 2 days per week (as determined by the last number of your house address, so me being at 120, the 0 indicates which days of the weeks I can water) and there's talk that soon we wont be able to water gardens with anything but grey water (from sinks, showers, washing machines). There are of course a lot of roses and other common flowers in neighbouring yards, but I personally like something low maintenance, pretty, and preferably native. I particularly love eremophila, grevillea, sturts desert pea, boronia, geraldton wax, among many many more. I am not fond of bottle brushes (although there is a well established one in my front yard) or a few others, but recognise their rightful place in our environment. I want to bring my garden to life with native Australian plants, to encourage the birds and insects which rightfully belong. Sadly, my neighbours have many cats which pose a real threat to everything. Including my plants as you will see below. Now, I am not some "it has to be Aussie!" pain-in-the-butt, as you will see below.

Here's some of what is flowering/thriving in my garden right now;

A variety of eremophila

The ever hardy little alyssums. Such tiny plants but so full of flowers, and they live year round. Yay!

Some bulbs I have planted, and some that just grew of their own accord (probably planted by previous owners and dormant for a number of years) such as snowdrops, grape hyacinths and dutch iris. The very last photo of the set below is a bulb growth, laying flat on the ground. My freaking neighbours have sooooo many cats and they're digging up all my plants to poop in my garden. I am NOT happy! They also get under my house and fight, climb with muddy prints on my car etc. I have some gladiolus bulbs to plant and am hesitant due to the pesky cats!

    Hyacinths                          Lily of the Valley              Ranunculi

I love freesias. They have such a lovely perfume, are a small and non-invasive little plant which self sows, so they grow back year after year, for free!! I missed their prime flowers, but I still thought this was a nice picture.

I also wanted to share this eucalyptus with you. It's been growing down by my gate since I bought the house, but at one point it was all white-ant (termite) eaten so dad chopped it down with a chainsaw, right back to ground level. Rather surprisingly, it grew back more vigorous than ever! It's not flowering right now, and has some kind of black spot fungi that I need to identify and treat, but it's a lovely plant. Until this morning's blog post I had no idea it was a Eucalyptus Macrcarpa but while I was googling to find links to some of the natives above, I stumbled upon this fabulous native Australian plant photo gallery which made identifying my eucalypt so much easier. Yay! Check out Australian Native Plant Society for yourself and particularly, their alphabetically listed photo gallery.

If anyone can help me identify these flowers I'd be most excited! I have owned and resided in this home for 7.5yrs now. About 4yrs ago now these bright orange flowers appeared. They seem to be a bulb, or at least to self sew like the freesias, they also grow at the same time as the freesias. The photos are terrible, they were taken on my mobile phone just as these flowers were about to die off. They have 6 petals, a yellow centre and black eyes between. The plant is also similar to a freesia in that it is low growing and the leaves and long and narrow. I haven't the faintest idea what they are, but anyone who sees them exclaims at their beauty and wants seeds. Well, if only I knew what to tell them. 

I have to finish repairing the reticulation (that I put a pick through some time ago) and plant some seeds and the potted shrubs, find something to replace the lawn with that is child play area friendly, plant the gladioli and agapanthus, deter the darn cats and just kick this garden back into shape. I did spray all the weeds occupying the space which was once lawn, it's a start. Slow and steady is my motto these days. I burn myself out otherwise then never go back to finish what I started.

In stitches

A shadow work embroidery

 A little embroidery I was working on at my sisters house. Three weeks in someone else's home about drove me nuts! I think the pattern was part of a pattern from and embroidery magazine I got at an op shop (thrift) which I don't have on hand right now. I wanted to try my hand at Shadow Work Embroidery (a really quick search found this tutorial). See how it looks like the ribbon/bow is outlined in a darker purple and subtly filled in a lighter shade? Well, it's all the same thread, but the way in which you work it is what gives that subtle, almost pencil like filled in appearance. The threads are criss crossed on the reverse side of the fabric, and the fabric is sheer, so what you are seeing as the pastel is really just the criss crossed threads showing through the thin fabric. The above photo is the truest representatin of colour.

I really like the design, and the effect. I have no idea what I will use this little stitchery for. My bullions (for the roses) are terrible! It's been such a long time since I embroidered anything and the needle really wasn't appropriate. I actually went to Spotlight and bought the voile, a hoop and cottons (Anchor, because it was slightly cheaper than DMC) and a silver quilters pencil simply to try shadow work, and because I was mega bored! The piece is on a square of voile about 6x6inches.

Jessica's Halloween costume is coming along nicely. The silver fabric (it's sort of like a satin) was a thrift find and I cut a very basic circle skirt. The poodle was supposed to go on a shin length skirt and I was so worried about room for the leash I wasn't paying too much attention as I placed my stencil on and one foot has come off the material. Heck! Umm.. ooooooops :D I had been going to make the entire poodle in felt but it seemed to heavy for such a light weight fabric. Can't say I am loving the patches of felt but Jessica is happy and it's she who has to wear it. I did purchase a diamonte buckle for the "collar" but it too was too heavy (and a good 0.5cm too big). Jessi thinks her poodle needs an eye, so I best find something or stitch one on. The tail was sort of a yoyo (suffolk puff) to give some dimension, as you can almost see in the top right hand photo. The bottom right hand photo is the reverse side of the fabric. As mentioned in an earlier post, I bought a 1950's circle skirt costume pattern in a second hand store, but I didn't use it. They wanted me to cut something like 6 1/4 circle panels. I cut my skirt in one piece. All it needs now is a waistband and a hem (without losing too much foot!) and for me to make her headscarf (out of some lovely spotty chiffon, also thrifted) and maybe, just maybe alter a white t-shirt to match. If not, plain white t-shirt it is. Jessica wont appreciate a bowling shirt and it's a costume, I am just not putting that much work into it. Embroidery floss used on the poodle is the same floss I purchased to make the shadow work embroidery above.

Note to self, buy a bigger embroidery hoop. Six inches is great to manage, but too freaking small for things like the poodle!

Sunshine and smiles

Spring is definitely here. One day it's lovely and sunny and just touching on too warm, the next it's cold and people are relighting their fires. But those sunny days are definitley enjoyable! On Saturday I took Jessi and her friend Georgina to the park, where we met up with my friend June and her baby girl Tian. My little cousin Shania soon joined us and we had hours of laughs and frolicking and happy kids. I love watching kids play. They're so sweet and mostly innocent. Thankfully Jessica doesn't have friends who tease or call names, the most yelling they do is "watch THIS!" excitedly as they swing like monkeys or climb up the slide without using their feet (that was a tricky feat! but they achieved it).

Jessica and Georgina spent a good hour just collecting gumnuts, which my clown of a daughter kept calling "acorns". Anyone think she watches too many American tv shows?

They climbed on everything in sight.

Tian is just learning to walk, so she got a little grumpy when the big girls ran off and she couldn't keep up, but she was happy all the same and enjoyed raiding their pile of gumnuts!!

Such gorgeous kids! They make me happy :)


On the crafting front I am working on Jessica's Halloween costume. They usually allow them to have a free dress day at school (uniforms are compulsory here, even in public schools). But this year with the 31st being a Sunday I am not too sure. Either way, I will make the costume and see what happens. She finally chose something not a princess, fairy or evil! I keep trying to drum into her that Halloween is about dressing up, not being a vampire or a witch. She came home from nanna's one evening while I was browsing online costume shops, so of course she had to have her say. We went through pages and pages of costumes, her usual likes being the Disney Princesses, anything remotely fairy.. all pretty standard horrible stuff. But she did suggest she liked a 1950's poodle outfit, in amongst all the "mummy, you know I really  like this one" and me reminding her she could like it all she wanted, mummy wasn't buying it. So I took the poodle skirt idea and ran with it! Knowing how easy it is to make, and how she will be unique! I really want her to embrace herself, not be a cliched little copy cat. So, poodle skirt it is! Funnily enough, on my last trip to Perth I found a lot of sewing patterns and even happened to find a poodle skirt costume in Jessica's size! Not that I needed it, but it's fun to look at. I also picked her up a little pettiskirt in Perth to sit under the poodle skirt to give it some dimension.

I bought a new toy, I will have to get some pics and share ;) Jessi loves it maybe even a touch more than I do!  A local entrepreneur is opening up a regular market type thing and I am thinking I need to get my backside into gear and actually make things I can sell. Always a daunting thought for me.

Allergy is no joke!

I tend not to get caught up in the hype that is constantly aflutter surrounding food allergies. I will openly talk to anyone who broaches the topic as it is a HUGE part of my life, as my 7yr old daughter suffers Anaphylaxis.


Jessica is anaphylactic to treenuts, sesame and latex.


She is reactive to egg, potato, peanut, banana, dust, mould, animal dander, rodents, grass, pollen, and a myriad of other things. She also has severe eczema (currently 90% controlled with immunossupression therapy) and asthma. All of which interact.


Now, allergy, anaphylaxis, intolerance are definitely "buzz" words at the moment. I'm not so sure many people really understand the difference between an intolerance and anaphylaxis. Hell, Blogger is even flagging Anaphylaxis and Anaphylactic as spelling errors, so clearly not even in their dictionary!


Anaphylxis Australia describes Anaphylaxis to mean..
(source http://www.allergyfacts.org.au/whatis.html)
Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction and is potentially life threatening. It must be treated as a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention.
Anaphylaxis is a generalised allergic reaction, which often involves more than one body system (e.g. skin, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, cardiovascular). A severe allergic reaction usually occurs within 20 minutes of exposure to the trigger and can rapidly become life threatening.


This is what we, the parents (and the sufferers) fail to get people to understand. 

ANAPHYLAXIS IS LIFE THREATENING

Having a child who suffers anaphylaxis is terrifying! Here I was worried about school yard bullying, and yet the problem is SOO much bigger. In the last week, an Australian network (Channel 9) allowed a comedian onto their popular TV show entitled "The Footy Show". I am choosing not to name the comedian, link his website nor the YouTube video of his performance on the Footy Show as it will only increase his profile! So anyways, this "comedian" (trust me, I use the term lightly) decided to mock children with food allergies.

What the hell was Channel 9 thinking???

They would never have allowed a comedian on air mocking children with Cancer or other terminal illness, which in many ways, Anaphylaxis is. I was alerted to this controversial topic through my Anaphylaxis Talk forum friends as a group had been formed on Facebook. There are many furious people.

I read on the Facebook page today that The Footy Show is "considering airing an apology" on their next show. TOO LATE! 

You've just let the entire country think that food allergy is something comical, a joke, something not to take seriously! 

I have been thinking about this topic over and over for 3 days now. At first I did not join the group, though I did watch the YouTube video of the comedian's performance, I went to his website and saw he is so unoriginal that it wasn't a new skit, but something he has been using for some time. How un-funny does a person have to be to mock ill children?!?! He claimed in his skit to be a father of a 13yr old, who knows if this is true, but if it is he has clearly been blessed with healthy children. Something not all of us are so fortunate to receive.

Anaphylaxis sufferers (it annoys me when people say "food allergy sufferers" because bee stings, medicine, latex.. so many non-food items can cause the exact same responses) in Australia struggle to be recognized as having a serious medical condition. The must carry Epinephren Auto Injectors (commonly known by the brand name EpiPen) with them everywhere just in case of a reaction. To school, to lunch at the cafe, to the park and the pool. Everywhere! An autoinjector is filled with adrenalin and injected (yes, as in needle) into a persons thigh in times of severe reaction. Do you know the signs of Anaphylaxis?

From Anaphylaxis Australia

(source http://www.allergyfacts.org.au/whatis.html)

Mild to moderate allergic reaction
• Tingling of the mouth
• Hives, welts or body redness
• Swelling of the face, lips, eyes
• Vomiting, abdominal pain
Severe allergic reaction- ANAPHYLAXIS
• Difficulty and/or noisy breathing
• Swelling of the tongue
• Swelling or tightness in the throat
• Difficulty talking or hoarse voice
• Wheeze or persistent cough
• Loss of consciousness and/or collapse
• Pale and floppy (young children)

My daughter Jessica suffered an anaphylactic reaction in November last year and it was terrifying! She wears a MedicAlert bracelet always. She doesn't take it off to sleep, shower, swim.. I replace it as she grows or things change, I always include my phone number. My biggest fear is losing her. All parents could lose their children, but I know the risks are so much higher with Jessi due to the speed at which Anaphylaxis can kill. 


Did you know that the airways close, they swell shut? If a person goes without oxygen for 3 minutes they can suffer severe, irreversible brain damage. My daughter could die within minutes of ingestion or contact with one of her allergens. DIE. DEAD. Gone forever. Yes, it really IS that serious. Why is it people still think food allergy is a joke? Just people being bothersome?

In Bunbury hospital after suffering Anaphylaxis
in Nov 2009

I will never know for certain that being without the EpiPen that day would have been the difference between life and death. I will always remember the fear I felt at knowing how violently ill she was, vomiting all through the car, crying, complaining of an itchy throat, hacking coughs, face so blotchy, red and swollen, getting weak and my own anxiety at knowing I would have to jam that damn needle into her tiny little leg and wait. Just wait and see what happened. Calling 000, trying to direct an ambulance to our location in a town I didn't know. Hearing the ambulance drive by us, cos let's face it, my directions stank! Having to let my baby girl get in that ambulance on her own so I could follow in my own car. That was THE hardest thing I have ever had to do as a parent.  I'm crying now as I write this, reliving those feelings. At the hospital they went straight into panic mode. An EpiPen is a temporary solution. Time enough to find help. Said to last about 20mins. At the hospital she was in Emergency right by the nurses station, I had to explain the whole latex allergy in a mad hurry so they could treat her. The put an IV into her arm and drew up adrenalin into a needle and it sat on a trolley RIGHT beside her. Just waiting for that moment it all started over again. Thank goodness it didn't. We had to stay at the hospital, in emergency with that needle full of adrenalin taunting me for over 4hrs. They had to wait for her facial swelling to subside, for her to be able to eat, and to be absolutely certain she wouldn't re-react. 

Jessica's IV after Anaphylaxis

As scary as that entire ordeal was, I will also never forget how quickly the EpiPen worked. I was on the phone to 000 when I administered it. Jessi was SCREAMING "mummy no!" over and over and over, my own resolve was gone and I was crying and telling the 000 operator I didn't want to do it. She reassured me she would talk me through it, and I recall feeling like an idiot because I knew my daughter needed the help and I have been trained and know exactly what to do. But oh the feelings you experience when you're actually faced with it! That EpiPen.. my oh my! Within 30seconds she was looking better, the redness and most of the swelling simply vanished and she was still crying but not looking so sick. When the ambulance arrived she was doing ok. She was 6 years old.


The guilt still sits deep within me, knowing I gave her 2 squares of a chocolate that I didn't realize contained hazelnuts. Just 4% hazelnuts (as stated on the pack) and only 2 squares, and that's what my daughters body did to her. That's what I did to her.


Jessica will never play with a basketball, never enjoy the freedoms of eating out and eating anything on the menu. As she gets older boys will be a huge issue for her as she can't just kiss some random guy, what if he's just eaten nuts? Not to mention the latex allergy causing issues for contraception and womens toiletries. 


80% of kids with egg allergy "outgrow" their allergy, just 20% of kids with nut allergies will outgrow their allergy. That is a huge, HUGE 80% who don't. And sadly, latex allergy will never go away and will only increase in seriousness with more contact. Sesame is on the Australian list of top 10 food allergens, but not the American. It's interesting how those top 10 lists differ in other parts of the world.


I wish Anaphylaxis would get more coverage, more understanding. By telling your child they should "wipe peanut butter along the corridors" may seem harmless and funny to you, but how about I tell my daughter to walk those same corridors carrying a gun? Yes, your harmless peanut butter is like a loaded gun to children with food allergies. It, like the gun, will kill. You have the comfort of knowing your child will safely eat that peanut butter, or clean it away and laugh at it's sticky, gooey texture while the anaphylactic child is huddling in a corner from fear.

So begins a new chapter

I took this photo of Jessica this morning. My goodness is she growing so fast!! This will be the last gorgeous photo for a while, both her top front teeth are wobbly at the moment. (it looked really washed out so I used "auto correct" in Photoshop Elements and now it looks really odd).

So, I quit my job. It was a decision I didn't want to have to make. It also took me a long time to make it. I realised when the problem person left work, the problems weren't going to go away. My employers refused to recognise the mistreatment and bullying (among other things) that were occurring. It came down to one meeting where, when I got very upset and frustrated and asked to call the meeting short as I could no longer concentrate or put together words, and they said no. I left that meeting and promptly wrote my resignation letter. 

I was due to go to Perth for a week of work conferences just days after I handed in the resignation. Conferences I was REALLY looking forward too and had tried holding out for. As it was, I went to Perth to have a bit of a break and spent some time with my sister, a few nights with my best friend on her 158acre property where we shared breakfast on the porch with the horse, then nanna and Jessi took the train to Perth to meet me as Jessi was due to see her dermatologists.


The dermatology appointment went really well! Her dermatologist delcared her an "Imuran success story". Imuran is the immunosuppressant (azathioprine) Jessica's been on for, well, maybe 18mth-2yrs now. Basically her skin is looking fabulous and it seems the drugs are working!! She does still get boil like sores on her calves and for the first time in 3yrs we were actually able to show these to the dermatologist. She is now back on antibiotics to try get rid of these. It seems she is still carrying a lot of MRSA and it feels like we'll never escape that damn infection.


There is so much I want to say, so many things I want to share. Maybe now I am not working I will be a better behaved blogger and post more often? Who am I kidding! I know my track record ;) I am hoping to start making some items to sell, I have been drafting out patterns (sadly not my own or I'd happily share), cutting out fabric ready to have a big stitching day, and seriously contemplating where my life is headed. I still haven't worked that one out, but for now I am going to enjoy being a stay at home mum once more.

Organised Chaos

 I owe the biggest, most belated thank you to Kali of

POPPY LANE

I won a giveaway she hosted way back in, hmm.. March? Yes, I have been a BAD blogger! I am so glad she emailed me to tell me of my fortune, as I had been such a bad blogger I wasn't even reading blogs! There is one item missing from the above photo, a lovely quilted notebook folder. Which I coveted and used right away. Jessica tried sneaking off with the little pink purse (which is for her) and I made her return it until I had taken photos.. ummah that I did not do the same for myself! I will photograph it soon!! I love everything! The fabric used for the little zippered pouch and pocket tissue case is soooo sweet, and those coathangers, omg gorgeous! The little round wooden things are buttons, aren't they sweet? Knowing me I will always be "saving them for good" then in 4yrs time wonder why I never used them. I'm terrible like that. Whether I am reading blogs, or recieve a RAOK like this, one of the first things I do is "OMG!! I have that fabric!". I have no idea why, it seems so stupid. But each and everytime I catch myself doing it. The only fabric I have which Kali used above is the tiny pink and white spotted poplin. I LOVE all the corduroy she used, it's so soft. Check out her blog, she does lovely work and shares tutorials for some of it.

I don't think winter and I really get along. I feel so drained all the time. That said, I feel worse in summer! Hmm.. So I haven't really completed anything. Infact, I've spent so much time with a friend that everything at home has been very neglected. Now I am trying to spend more time at home, she is feeling neglected. Does anyone see the trend here? It's no win no matter what I do.

Jessi had her first ever fringe (bangs) cut into her hair

Jessi's new fringe makes her look a lot older. Well, she is 7 and I guess to her that is very "big girl" but wow.. My own mum didn't even recognise her for a few moments. That made Jess very sad but it highlighted how one small alteration causes such a drastic effect. Her skin's looking a bit nasty again but she's been generally very healthy. She hasn't had any serious problems with her asthma this winter!! We still run backwards and forwards to Perth far too frequently to keep a check on how the immunosuppressants are going in her system. They (currently azathioprine) have some nasty side effects which we've managed to avoid. Jess has finally caught up in school and is now reading with the top of her class. Over the last 2yrs she missed so much due to her health that I was worried she'd lag for some time but she's a determined lil thing and works hard. She likes school. Last week she tumbled, head first, off her monkeybars. Now, that was a little scary! I didn't see it happen but I ran to her when I heard her screaming and when she told me what happened I was a bit wary as she said "my legs feel weak". I took her to the hospital, they went into "neck/back damage" mode and had her in a makeshift neck cuff (small sandbags as we weren't sure what the paediatric neck cuff was made of). She was fine, she is fine. Kids fall down. A lot of people are moving away from town and she's having to say goodbye to a lot of friends. It's been quite disruptive.

We celebrated a first birthday party for Tian (Tee-arn) and my-oh-my was Jessica jealous! We spent a good 2 days with June and Tian setting up the party and Jessi misbehaved so bad! She's usually such a delightful little person. But it soon became obvious an attack of the greeneyed monsted was in hand. She hasn't had a party since she was 4, and she let us all know it!! Because we live in a small town and you're lucky if the supermarket has milk in stock, we found decorations for Tian's cake and the cake decorating activity June wanted the child guests to do, Jess and I spent hours one night at June's dining room table separating licorice allsorts and using tiny tiny cutters to cut out shapes, and I sliced fruitsticks to create little flower shapes. June also had a kids pizza topping activity, and finger painting. Look at what Jessica did to her dress! It was only a $6 opshop (thrift) dress, but it was in great condition and we both loved it. It's now a dig-in-the-dirt-to-your-lil-hearts-content-dress. Not to worry, it's only a piece of clothing and is easily replaced. She wasn't very impressed about me recording the moment!

  

Above: I am still unable to tame Blogger! Grr! Stupid photos.

A scrapbook page sitting on my desk. Nothing is glued down, I can't decide where I am going with it. Believe it or not, it's been on my desk about 3 weeks and toyed with one or twice. Blergh!

I got a nice, new book. The plan has always been to do some vege gardening. Our house is on a 1/4acre block so we have the room, but do I have the mojo? Moving right along..

Tian's actual 1st birthday present, still a pile of fabric. I have a pattern in a Handmade magazine for a teddy bear made from towelling nappies (diapers) or old towels. June had some cloth nappies that had worn thin and happily gave me a couple without questions. My friends kindly picked me up some Parisian Essence on a trip to Kalgoorlie (they found it easily in Woolworths) and I used an entire bottle to dye the nappies. I added in some vinegar then rinsed with Epsom Salts. Will see if that helps set the colour any. Tian's bday was 10th July.. the photo was taken today, 15th August.. SHHH!

Jessi took this photo of my stepfather and I putting together her cubby house? Did I ever blog about this? I don't recall. Anyways, the house is together, the frame is together. Those 2 pieces still need connecting and the slide and rockwall to be added to complete it. This was bought for xmas 09. Yes, it's now Aug 2010 and she still can't use it.. again with SHHH

So, that's kinda what I have been up to (or not) of late. I have some hyacinths from a friend in bloom which make me smile. She gave them to me the night before she moved away. I have some other bulbs in the ground that seem to be sprouting and an order in for more. I have to go away for 2 weeks at the end of the month and I am really looking forward to it. Work's been a complete and utter nightmare and as pathetic as this is to admit, I don't want to work anymore. I stick it out, but I am beginning to despise it and the more I feel that way the sicker I feel. It's not been fun. My cousins are all pregnant again. By Feb 2011 my four cousins (they all live locally so they're friends too) will have 11 kids between them ranging in age from 12 to newborn and it includes 1 set of twins. My sister and I only have the one each. She's sort of sworn off kids but I've wanted another for so long now. Jessi does too. Well, she wants a brother or a sister lol She can wait at least 15yrs before she has a child of her own!

Once more I find myself glad I didn't share this blog with a bunch of real life people/friends/family. I feel so censored all the time at facebook and such that it's nice to have this outlet.

Long periods of absence

I'm still here, just not blogging. I know, I so often take these absences and the only way I can explain it to you is that I am not happy.

I haven't even posted the WONDERFUL package I won. Must do that!

Things have got to me again lately. Everyone seems to be leaving, my little girl is asking the hard questions, work's been a living hell, I've spent so much time with 1 friend I am sure the others feel abandoned yet when I spend 1 day at home that 1 friend feels abandoned, I keep getting headaches and I feel so lethargic. So, as this is a blog dedicated to my crafting adventures and with the way I have feeling I haven't completed anything, there really hasn't been anything to post.

Worse yet, is I haven't been keeping up with the lives of my blogger friends! It's one thing to feel all mopey and another to withdraw so completely. I need to get my act together!!!!

By the end of Aug the problem person at work should have left and I will be ready for over a week in Perth for training and conferences for work so things should start looking up. I can't let myself think that whomever fills the position of the problem person at work could possibly be worse. I know there will be a period of heavy adjustment as it will make for 3 new staff in the last couple of months, 2 of them supervisors. And by new I mean never employed in our town before so know nothing of how things operate for us. But it will afford the opportunity to show them what I know and my skills and not be oppressed by a person who assumed as they'd done my job before that they knew everything. I am ready to embrace that opportunity!! If things did get any worse I would be forced to quit. I am not this strong person everyone keeps telling me I am. I simply can't cope with those kinds of attitudes, more than that, with the unkindness. I try so hard to make things right, I need to stop caring. Easier said than done.

So anyways, I have a teddy bear cut out. It was supposed to be for the 1st birthday of my friends little girl but as I spent so much time at said friends house it didn't get sewn in time. I started a scrapbook page but walked away from it, I dabbled in hand sewing some baby shoes but mucked them up so bad I lost interest, and I still have a lonely knitted baby bootie waiting for a mate. I supscribed to Australian Homespun magazine and eagerly await the first issue to arrive, and my subscription to Ottobre was just renewed. In theory, you should be seeing something out of me soon...