Fire update

Just dropping t0 let you know we are all fine! Well, as best you can be under the circumstances. I think all of Melbourne is in a state of shock and disbelief. We have had bushfires before but nothing of this magnitude or ferocity.

On Saturday it was so hot. It reached 46c - our highest ever recorded temperature. A scorching hot northerly gusterly was blowing. Perfect conditions for a bushfire. By lunch time the girls and I went off to Doncaster Shopping Town - an airconditioned shopping centre - to escape the heat.

When the shops closed at 5.30 we went outside to see if the predicted cool change had come yet. No. It was so hot we just about passed out just stepping outside. There was no way we were going anywhere! So back in we went and had some dinner and saw a movie. Normally from the food court you can see the city of Melbourne but on Saturday all sight was lost to dust and I presume smoke. We went home at 9.30 but still were not aware of what was going on so close to home. It wasn't until Sunday did we realise the devastation that took place. Many of the fires were at the fringe of Melbourne's suburbs - probably only 30kms "as the crow flies" from our place. Thank God the change came and the wind turned from being hot and northerly to cooler and southerly. We live on a bush block and are aware of the dangers that can present when the weather is hot and windy.

Many of the fires are still burning and at the moment do not pose a high threat. But lets pray that the weather stays cool so that they do not flare up again.

You can read more about the bushfires on Wikipedia. Or on many other sites if you google Victorian Bushfires.

If you want to help, you can make a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

Astratex sale

Astatex is having its half price sale from today to 15th February. Lots of European fabrics half the usual price. Well I did my bit to spend Ruddy's bonuses with the following:

Cottons for $10 a metre - were originally $32 per metre. I so need some summer clothes to beat this heat. But unfortunately it is too hot to sew!!

And I bought this (supposedly) silk fabric. Black and white checks with Burgundy/wine flowers. It is a taffeta with a bit of sheen - perfect for that Burda WOF trench. Sorry no numbers for now and anyway it won't be started for a while. I am thinking a perfect garment for my birthday in April. Here is a close up of the flowers:

Now, I am not convinced it is a silk as the burn test tells me it has a bit (or a lot) of plastic in it. There was no label on the bolt so I asked the sales assistant who assured me it was silk. It certainly was a silk price. So what to do? Complain as I was misled and ask for my money back or keep it anyway because it is gorgeous? I will see how I feel once I cool down (literally).

Today was the highest Melbourne temperature on record - 46.4C. And there are bushfires burning over a lot of the state - most very close to Melbourne. The weather has changed, and the temp has dropped to 26, but it is still windy. Keep us in your prayers.

Award part 2 and Burda 05-2008-104

I have spent two lunch times checking to see if everyone has received a nomination for the Kreative blog award and pretty much come to the conclusion that we all have. But I didn't check everyone's blog so if I missed you, you just may be on my Google Reader subscription list. I have updated this and now have all 136 blogs on my sidebar - phew (and no wonder not much sewing gets done around here!).

Late last year I made Burda 5-2008-104 from a remnant poly lycra jersey I purchased from the Cleggs sale last year. This dress had just about been made by everyone, so I won't mention too much about the construction.

particularly sexy pose......

As I was working with a remnant, I needed to do the facings with a plain stretch fabric and the cross over had to be pieced in the middle. It has been my go to dress for the summer as it skims nicely over the extra padding that has somehow appeared over the last 6 months! Sigh, I seriously need to make some clothes that fit me or get back into exercise.

Award and is it February already?

Hi everyone - where did January go? Well I can tell you it wasn't sitting in my sewing room, that is for sure. I did however clean it very nicely and it is there all ready for me to go. I also traced out a jacket pattern but I think I need to get back into it on a simpler style so will put this one aside for a while.


January is holiday month in Australia, but now Sofie is back at school and we have to get back into gear. Ellen will start at uni next month on a Bachelor of Film and Television degree at Swinburne. She did VERY well in her final year at school and won herself a scholarship that will cover her fees.


We are spending a lot of time cleaning up the house as we need to sell so I can settle with the X. And that is taking up most of my energy. That and the heat. Last week we had an all time record of 3 consecutive days over 43c - with Friday being 45!! (113F). And this is what happens to your garden when it sits in an oven for three days....



Our airconditioning at work failed on Thursday afternoon and we had to close down the file server. Only this morning did we have access to our computers again. Even at home it was too hot to turn on my computer (no aircon at all at home). We spent a lot of time at Doncaster Shoppingtown! lol


Now to some fun stuff. KatyS, E and Gwen all nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award. Thank you so much ladies! I had been watching the award going around and felt a bit left out. But you all came to my rescue. Now I need to see who has not been given the award so we can all feel special.

The rules for this award are:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

I will need some more time to see who I will nominate. I think all of those great blogs have been nominated, and we know about them anyway. It is the other little gems out there that we have not come across that are great finds when these awards go around. So, if anyone knows of someone they feel should be nominated that hasn't yet been (including yourself) you can email me.