Keeping busy

The last few weeks have been so much calmer. I have given the kids a few weeks off homeschooling so they can catch up with friends over the holidays. We have slept in, stayed in our PJs till late in the morning, sometimes even the whole day!  We've had picnics by the lake to feed the geese.

We have baked, and been to the library, we have watched movies as a family both here and in the cinema. We have planned and researched our trip - at least the first part, and managed to catch up with some friends. 

But it's hard being stuck in a small space with nowhere to go ... just waiting.

Waiting for Geo to tie up the business loose ends that have been tying up funds we'd like before we leave. Waiting for the chance to spend a few days with the van somewhere re-organising and packing shelves properly, etc.Waiting for Geo to finish the work on his truck that he wants done before we leave. Waiting for doctor's specialists appointments which for some reason take months to set up!? Are there that many sick people? Or is there just not enough medical practitioners in specialised fields? I've not had much experience so I'm a bit of a noodlehead when it comes to this stuff. Anyhoo.  Waiting for Geo to give the green light - business stuff finished, accounts finalised and sorted, truck and van ready for the road. 

In the meantime I am crocheting granny squares, making patchwork blocks out of the leftover fabrics, and if I get some time at my machine tomorrow, I might even make more winter pjs for the kids! It has turned cold up here. For Qld, it's positively freezing. (Having lived in NZ I am aware that Qld freezing is not the same as NZ freezing, ok? LOL)

I am also keen to start making sourdough. Geo says he knows how. (Surprises me not, the man has a surprising amount of knowledge stored in that computer brain of his - must be where my Lil gets it!) So I crocheted a sourdough starter jar cover.

Then a spare one, in case the other one needs washing.

And then I crocheted a coaster for the jar to sit on. (I love crocheting these mandalas - they are like meditation for me.) As you can see, I've been keeping busy. If I had a bigger bank balance I would be driving all over the countryside visiting all my dear ones. But am stuck here on the cold cold Gold Coast so keeping my fingers warm is a necessity!(inbetween freezing park visits to keep the kids worn out!)

Mum's peg basket broke, so I quickly designed up a couple of peg bags that would fit on some leftover childrens coat hangers. I made one for her, and one for me. Hope it will be a nice surprise when she gets back! 

We plan to head north the first weekend in August. If we don't leave then we will have to stay somewhere in the van for a few months then go south. Fingers crossed! So many hiccups as we try to make this Round Oz Trip a reality. Then again, we did only decide to do it in January. Most people I have talked to plan and save for years before doing it. We're not the sensible. We're kinda spurofthemoment-crashtestdummies-flybytheseatofourpants-batshitcrazy kind of people. 

Hope you are rugged up and warm wherever you are! 

Patchwork Moments

When I am not homeschooling, parenting, washing, cleaning, cooking, shopping, driving or at the warehouse I sew fragments of leftover fabrics into wool storage,  I mean, soft furnishings.

Like this patchwork pillow, made out of offcuts of all our denim jeans over the years.

And my purple velvet pillow, made from a favourite piece of clothing from years ago. (BC)

This colourful folk-artsy print on navy cord reminds me of our chickens and the flowers and garden of our old house. I miss them, but every time I look at this print I know I'll have my chooks and veggie garden again sometime in the future! They bring me so much joy. Still hoping to squeeze in some travelling herb pots. Hope wherever you are today you are finding your joy, too. 

Finally, no more vinyl!!

This last week has been a bit of a roller coaster.

Mum came back for a week and it has been lovely spending time with her.  Unfortunately though her health has had a bit of a setback and we have been running to and from doctors all week. Thankfully it looks like we have everything sorted now and she is off again on her cruise to SE Asia! Oh! to be retired. ;)

Geo and his trusty sidekick "J" have been stripping out, sanding, and cleaning off all the old caulking around the windows that had dried and hardened, and pulled up all the vinyl from the floor. This involved using a heat gun and a scraper - during our hot and humid weather it was NOT a fun job and seemed to take days.

But eventually the vinyl disappeared! And so did the windows and the door and the aluminium strips (seams?) that hold the caravan together.  

And inside the van (well, what's left of it!) is a network of cables and diagrams that is so far beyond my understanding .... but I have faith in my Geo. :)

We have been looking at lights - trying to determine where in the van we'll need them, and choose the type of lights that will suit. We both believe in task lighting - it will be rare that all the lights are running at the same time. Instead, lighting over the table, over the kitchen area and above the wardrobe/dressing area are the main places for lights. We will add some downlights for ambient lights over the lounges and probably reading lamps for the beds. We are a family of bookworms!

I am a big fan of these LED lights from Ikea. We've had them before, and they are great! Energy efficient, cool, and long lasting. I reckon they'll look great under the cabinets above the lounge.

We have a few days to get everything ready for the final wiring stage, and then later in the week we will start putting the old girl back together! We have been trying to figure out the van's name. She is definitely an old girl, and we have been throwing around lots of names like "Millie" and "Audrey", "Pandora" and "Phoenix"(for obvious reasons) but she hasn't quite developed her full persona yet. I'm sure that once she has come out the other side of her "surgery" we will have a better idea. 

Geo's Nissan Patrol is called Humphrey, as we used to have a large stuffed camel called Humphrey in our lounge room that the kids loved riding around the house, and when we bought the patrol they remarked how the car felt like it was lurching around like a horse or camel. And the name stuck. I am sure that the van will make her name known soon, too. :) Of course, suggestions are welcome!!

I have been sewing every chance I can get, and have nearly finished all three duvet/doona covers. Here's a few sneak peeks ...

I have also chopped up my denim collection and have grand plans to turn them into a wall hanging storage solution. Also, all the offcuts from the doona covers are going to be pieced together into curtains for the bunks. Might even sneak a few pockets into the curtains too - great for hiding secret treasures and trinkets ... ;)

Found this old denim dress and had a fabulous crafty break through moment! Will show you the result next week...

I have really been surprised at how much I have enjoyed sewing these patchwork covers. I just love putting all these bright and colourful squares together and seeing how they turn out - much like my addiction to crochet granny squares!!  

 

I hope that your week has been full of crafty adventures and breakthroughs, too.  But for now,  goodnight and may you dream sweet dreams. 

Fumes and sprinkles!!

Today Geo started removing the old Lino from the floor. This involved a heat gun and a scraper, a dust mask and a whole bucketload of sweat!!

Our rubbish pile from the van is growing bigger ...

Geo has also pulled out all the windows and stripped them down, then cleaned all the aluminium until they were nice and shiny again. He scraped off all the ancient putty around them that had hardened and cracked and has bought new weatherstripping and will eventually reseal the windows with a flexible sealant like Sikaflex. 

The fumes from all the thinners and the Lino glues were making him dizzy though, so we may have to take a fan to move the air around more!!! 

I finished the top of Lily's cover today so am pleased with that!! 

All in all a productive day!

Oh, and we also baked cupcakes in honour of a friend's birthday who I can't be with in real time but we will definitely celebrate in spirit with her tomorrow. xxx

Colour

I am loving playing with colour.

The colours I chose for the interior upholstery are quite sedate ( for me) but the accents will be anything but!!

I wanted to make co-ordinating doona covers for each of us in the caravan, as everyone had kind of grown out of their existing ones and I didn't fancy taking my  1000 thread count WHITE cotton sheet and doona covers to the Red Centre!! 

I also wanted an excuse to use up my fabric stash!!  So I've designed some simple patchwork panelled doona covers and I am on the hunt for a navy or dark denim look fabric for the bulk of it. As for the printed cotton patchwork panels, I have heaps!! I just love this orange kitty print, don't you?

Lily has selected her favourites, and I spent all day piecing out her doona panel. Can't wait to start sewing!!!

And I found these ribbons in my vintage trims stash - they'll be fab on my daughter's cover!!

Geo has been busy gutting the van even more!! He wasn't going to reline the roof, as it seemed in a reasonable condition, but boy are we glad now that he decided to! There were holes in the roof - actual holes! Nothing my Geo can't fix though, so out came the welder .... 

Now we can start fresh, with a clean slate. We are insulating all the walls and the roof, using recycled polystyrene of all things! 

This weekend and next week will be super busy as we rewire, insulate and install all the new lining, ready for painting. 

There is so much to do, that at times we feel quite overwhelmed. But then we do a little bit here, and cross something of the list there. Eventually, we'll get there. I have faith. In us.

And just look at these awesome stainless steel cups Geo bought for the van ... How can we be anything but happy and excited?

We are living and breathing this revamp at the moment, in between school and work and washing commitments ( I still can't get over how much washing I have to do ) so there isn't much time for socializing. But soon we will have our home on wheels and be ready to hit the road. And it will be worth it. Even if there is more washing.