Bike and pledge review.

It has been a good couple of months now since I made my New (financial) Year pledge and boy has my life changed! The most obvious change is that I am no longer working as a casual primary school teacher, but now full time as an outreach worker in the mental health field. I began this job at the end of July and have loved every day so far. But this post is not about how much I enjoy my job, it is about checking in to see how well I am sticking to my pledge:

Reading back over my pledge post, I can remember how depressed I was feeling about not having permanent, full time work. I am one of those people who thrive off working and contributing financially to the household. I mean, I worked 5 days a week while I studied full-time at university for four years! I love work. When I made my pledge I was trying to create a bit more of a routine and structure to my life, attempting to patch up the bad feels I had about not having a 'proper' job. Here goes:

--> I said "I will not buy a single piece of clothing for the next six months - I will have to make any clothes I want instead!" and, well, I have pretty much stuck to this, even with working full time! I do admit to buying two dresses for summer though (that was a weak moment)! I did have to buy some new clothes, but they were shorts and t-shirts for work only. That gear I do not wear on the weekends! :-) So far I have made 2 dresses, 1 scarf, 2 skirts, and one pair of pajama shorts.

--> I said "I will make more homemade foods." I tried. I did make a bit of bread. But this has definitely fallen off my radar since beginning this job... does cooking dinner count? Probably not.

--> I said "I will grow seasonal vegetables and maintain a herb garden." Well, winter was rubbish. The spot I dug my vegetable garden just didn't get enough sunlight, so I had severely stunted crops. I have re-planted for spring and it is looking much more promising. The days are getting longer and the crops seem to be growing much faster.

--> I said "I want to establish more environmentally friendly cleaning methods.". This definitely has not happened I am afraid! Sorry guys (and Earth)!

---> I said "I want to start an exercise routine." I have done this! A week after I began my job a gym opened up downstairs from my office (what are the chances). So there really was no excuse. I am currently doing 2 spin classes per week and it is actually making me feel good! (I know, exercise really does work, strange huh)!

--> I said "In an effort to live greener I am considering riding a bike to work" I found out this week that there is a spot in the office where I can leave my bike if I ride to work! So what's a girl to do when she uncovers such information? Buy a bike of course! Look at my new baby...

Jamie picks it up for me on Tuesday, so come Wednesday I will be riding to work! I am planning to add a basket to the front and a bag on the back, plus some fenders and lights.

* * * * * * *

So overall I think my New (financial) Year pledge is going pretty well. I have definitely stuck to most of it, and it is becoming a nice part of the routine of my life.

I am now beginning to plan my goals for the coming New Year... just over a month to go.

Sam xox

For the little ones.

Merry Christmas Embroidery Pattern Packet by bigBdsg

I have decided to buy most (if not all) of my Christmas gifts this year from Etsy. There are so many fantastic, original and quality items on Etsy these days that I feel it would be a waste of my money to shop in multi-million dollar chain stores and shopping malls. I know I am not the first person to feel like this, and I certainly won't be the last, but I just felt that it had to be said. Make it my second 'simple life' pledge.

So tonight the search began. As some of our family are now living overseas, posting gifts to them through Australia post will be a nightmare! Take my gift to Mill when she moved to the US. I sent her 6 50g balls of wool plus two sets of knitting needles. It cost me over $20 to post it! More that the gift had cost! Never again.

So I have turned to Etsy for help. While it will be kinda weird to have a stranger send our loved ones their Christmas presents, hopefully the beauty of the item will distract their eyes from seeing the unfamiliar 'from' address printed on the bottom of the parcel.

Tonight the search began, to find the perfect gift for a 2 year old lady.

Board with the Button by LinenKids

Four Seasons Tree and Birdie Set by Woodmouse

Little Wood Toy Iron by PrettyDreamer

Rainbow Sorting Ball Game by BlackbearyMountain

Custom Name Blocks by SunBeemDesigns

Doesn't it just make you wish you were a kid again?

Sam xox

$5 Flowers.

Walking past the train station on the way home from training yesterday, I couldn't resist pausing to check out what the flower man had to offer.

I don't often buy flowers as they are usually too expensive to justify, but these beauties I couldn't pass up.

Their perfume is incredible!

In other exciting news, those vintage patterns I bought of Etsy finally arrived! After the 2 week mark I was beginning to worry that they would never reach me...! They are all so cute and I can't wait to try them out!

I absolutely love this jiffy dress pattern, I think this will be the first one I make.

Better go get ready for work... thats right... work on a Saturday. At least it only comes around every eight weeks :-)

Sam xox

Dress made.

Finally, the first outfit for my no-clothes project!

It has been a few weeks now since my dressmaking class with Geogria at Tessuti Fabrics in Surry Hills Sydney. The past few weekends have been very hectic, and I was really struggling to find the time to actually sit at my machine and sew.

I finally decided enough was enough, and declared last Saturday as "Craft Day". What did this involve? Asking Jamie (very nicely) to vacate the house for the day; jumping out of bed at 7am to set the place up with both machines and cutting table; inviting my crafting buddy Mill over to keep me company; oh... and a whole lot of sewing!

I began cutting out the dress at 10am and finally had it finished at 5:30pm in time to wear out to dinner with the girls!

I think the fact that I was able to make this dress (that included an invisible zipper and boning) was all due to Georgia's thorough teaching during my lesson with her! Thanks Georgia!!!

I have a feeling that this summer I will be wearing this dress in many different fabrics!

Below are some photos of the finished dress. Sorry they are such bad quality with the lighting but I was just busting to show you all as I am pretty impressed with my result. The fabric looks very grey in these photos, when in real life it is a beautiful caramel white. Oh well.

Standing on our spare bed trying to 'model' the dress!

The back of the dress with the very first invisible zipper I have ever put in!

(Seriously, you NEED the invisible zipper foot if you want to put

on in a garment - it makes it too easy).

Close up of the boned bodice.

And you can have a sneak peak of the inside of the dress.

I love this pattern because the bodice is actually lined

and this makes it look so professionally finished.

Before the last stitch was sewn into this dress, I was already planning what to make next...

Sam xox

Spring is here.

There is really something about the first day of Spring. The sun feels a little warmer, the birds sing a little louder and our moods lift...

Sadly I missed out on most of this today as I had to attend work training. Being couped up inside a space the size of a kitchen for 8 hours really put a dampener on my Springtime skip (the training was, however, amazingly valuable for my work practice).

To try and restore balance to my first Spring day for 2010, I came home and sat in my garden ... well ... my tiled three-story high garden.

Oh Spring, how I have missed thee!

Sam xox

Dressmaking.

Phew, one week down in my new job. It has been so good but so challenging! Basically the role is one involving community outreach to people living with a mental illness, so visiting these peoples homes and working 1-on-1 with them has been very eye opening and a fantastic learning curve.

* * * * * * *

I have made some progress this week towards my no-clothes pledge.

At the beginning of the week my dressmakers mannequin arrived in the mail. I bought this one on eBay for a really good price, and it arrived at my house in just over 24 hours! I have it all set up and adjusted to my measurements, and have a very large piece of calico fabric to play with on it! I want to try and draft my own pattern for a top using pencils, scissors, pins and the mannequin. I have the idea in my mind, I just hope I can transfer it to reality.

My next step forward involved my very generous sister-in-law Ally (I will be introducing you to her very soon) sending me a book she couldn't give higher praise for, Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch. You see, Ally is a fantastic sewer and makes THE most adorable clothes for her 18 month old daughter, buying simple patterns and adding different touches to make her daughters clothes have a vintage/feminine look. So this book? Well Ally was right - it hits the mark in terms of actually explaining in simple language how to draft your own patterns. The instructions are so clear and all the clothes featured I would actually wear, unlike those featured in "Sew U".

As if giving me this book wasn't enough, Ally pointed me in the direction of a dressmaking magazine website called Burda Style. They have a website full of information, patterns and inspiration, which you can browse for yourself at: www.burdastyle.com.

This website is fantastic! There are hundreds of patterns to choose from, and when your heart falls for one, you simply add it to your cart, pay your money (not very much) and then it is yours to download and save. You simply print the pattern off using your printer, sticky tape the pages together, and cut out to your size. There are lots of reasons why I like this method:

1) You can print out as many as you need, so all the fiddling with tracing the different sizes with your shop bought patterns is no more. Simply cut it to size, and if you are making different sizes, you can print it out again and cut it to the new size!

2) The patterns take up no space! Just store them on your computer and print them out as you need them.

3) You have instant access to a multitude of patterns, saving you much more time.

4) The patterns are all about 60% cheaper than in stores in Australia!

While waiting for a friend to finish work earlier this week, I browsed a newsagency looking for dressmaking patterns.

So excited to find the latest issue of Burda Style sitting there in the magazine racks that I took it home with me.

Sam xox

Jars.

Jars. They are sold in our supermarkets containing all sorts of things. They can be re-purposed for a multitude of uses. My mother-in-law fills her antique jars with sand and places tea light candles in them. A simple combination with such a warm and romantic feel...

Some beautiful jars currently available on Etsy...

JoieDeCleve: Pair of Blue Canning Mason Jars with Wire Tops

ShaneLilyRain: Vintage Wide Mount Mason Jars

sparkklejar: Two Antique Kerr Mason Jars

DownVintageLane: Blue Ball Half Gallon Jars

In the spirit of living simply, I think the re-purposing of jars is such a neat idea.

Sam xox

Granny squares.

Thank you so much for your kind wishes about my job. As some of you know I have had a lot going on in my personal life these past 12 months, which I will leave private. This job really does mark a new and positive chapter of my life beginning, and I am over the moon!

On the weekend I visited my crafty friend Mel. She is the kind of friend I believe every girl should have. Mel always has time to listen to my worries, takes time to consider them and gently gives me advice. I always leave her place feeling like a better person than what I had arrived as.

The bonus? She is a total crafty inspiration! Her taste is seriously cool, and she always has a quirky idea to try. We never 'plan' to craft, but needless to say, within 15 minutes of my arrival we are plotting our next creative adventure.

Last weekend was no different. On Sunday morning I arrived at her place, and she explained that the night before she had taught herself to crochet via YouTube! Oh boy was I excited! One of my pledges was to crochet a dishcloth and this would be my first step towards this goal. Little did I know however, what Mel had in mind. She whipped out her crocheting project, which was a granny square.

It took precisely 2.3 seconds for me to decide that I wanted to make Granny Squares and for her to teach me (I admit I am a tad impulsive) and another 4.6 seconds for us to realise we HAD to make a trip Spotlight to buy some wool.

Here is what I have achieved thus far:

Sam xox

A step in the right direction.

Remember this little beauty I picked up on eBay many months ago? Well I actually know how to use it now, and I mean really use it.

It all started on Tuesday. It was a wet and windy winters day in Sydney, and I was feeling totally uninspired. I had been out on errands all morning, during which my car broke down and I had to wait an hour for the car-fixer-man to arrive (he was a total gem and had me back on the road within 10 minutes).

I came home at lunch time and decided that I would phone the sewing machine shop up the road from us and see if it would be possible for them to fix my tension on my overlocker (serger) machine. The nice lady said that they actually did lessons (for a very small fee) so I booked myself in for one at 4:30pm that afternoon.

The sewing machine mechanic actually gave me the lesson. He explained to me that he would teach me the 'medicine' of the machine so that I would be able to understand it. He was amazing! I now know what each of the four stitches on the finished fabric mean and which dial they relate to, how to fix up the problems, and I also found out that my overlocker has a differential setting. Which means that I can overlock knit fabrics so they are able to stretch, and also gather fabrics (for example if you overlocking looks wavy it means the fabric has stretched too much, and you would go over it again with the gather setting). Finally he showed me how I can change the stitch length.

Totally inspired I raced home and set the machine up, ready to give it a whirl and show off my newly found overlocking skills to Jamie. I forgot to lift the thread feed stand at the top and it totally choked on its own thread. Woops! The fabric did not even resemble overlock stitches, and was just a tangled mess. Within 30 seconds I had fixed all the dial tensions again and was sewing like a pro. I explained to Jamie that I had to make that mistake to prove just how awesome my new overlocking skills actually were... I don't think he believed me.

Sam xox

5 days down. 178 to go.

Almost reaching the first week of my no-clothes project, and I have to say I have had some reactions of surprise and encouragement from friends and family who I have told about my no-clothes project (I think the name is cute, if not a little on the nudist side?).

I have been looking for a good quality sewing tutorial book for a while now, and I think I have found it! After much researching and review reading online, I have decided to purchase "Sew U - the Built by Wendy guide to making your own wardrobe".

Sew U is written by Wendy Mullin - a New York fashion designer and the brains behind the Built by Wendy label, and you can visit the website here.

The book contains three basic Simplicity patterns: pants, button shirt, and skirt. There are also tutorials on how to alter patterns and create your own pieces.

I am super excited and can hardly wait for it to arrive in my mail box!

Psst! I am also very excited and encouraged by all your kind comments! I am looking forward to keeping you up to date on this little project!

Sam xox

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the new financial year in Australia.

I thought today would be the perfect date to take my first steps towards a simpler life.

I have been reading Rhonda's Down to Earth blog for many months now, and have been taking peaks here and there at other readers blogs, who have committed themselves to living a more simple life. What I love about Rhonda's blog is that she does not set out 'rules' about how to lead a simple life. She instead says that a simple life is unique to each person and their situation, and what some of the changes are that they can make. Big or small, all are valued.

So, here I am making the pledge to live a simpler, more mindful life. I am excited and nervous about this commitment. I know I will have successes and failures as I try to make the changes to my life that will help me make this a reality.

I have spent time identifying the skills I already have that I can use:

* Sewing

* Cooking

* Gardening

I will make use of these in the following ways:

1) I am making the pledge here and now that I will not buy a single piece of clothing for the next six months - I will have to make any clothes I want instead! The exception being undies, singlets (yes I wear singlets) and stockings. The rest I will make! It is just too easy as a 25 year old girl living in Sydney to go to the massive shopping centres and pick up 'bargains' on sale that I do not really need. I'll admit that I am so guilty of this - going into brand name shops and buying a piece on sale just because it is cheap. Not because I actually need it. Six months might not sound like a long time to others, but to me its a big but hopefully achievable goal.

Two changes of season. 26 pay cheques. 183 days. I can do it!

So, if I do want a new piece of clothing, like some skirts for summer, or some spring dresses, I will have to source the fabric, design the pattern (or use one I have already) and actually MAKE the clothes.

2) I will make more homemade foods. I am actually already pretty good at this. I am not the kind of person who buys frozen or pre-made meals for dinners regularly, and we don't have take-away that often. What I am talking about is taking the time and effort to actually make bread, yogurt, jams and biscuits instead of buying them.

3) I will grow seasonal vegetables and maintain a herb garden. I am still waiting for my first round of vegetables to be ready in my garden. My friend Mel gave me an awesome potted herb garden a few months ago, and all the plants have either been used up or have gone to seed. I want to replant this pot as it was just the perfect size and shape for a balcony herb garden!

Now the skills I want to learn:

1) How to use my overlocker. I want to find a place that gives actual lessons on how to use these, as I am sure there is a better way to use mine than I currently am (plus I need to learn how to adjust the tension correctly)!

2) Knit dishcloths. I am ok at knitting, and would love to find a free online pattern for a dishcloth using basic knitting stitch - any suggestions???

3) I want to establish more environmentally friendly cleaning methods. I want to actually learn how I can use environmentally friendly materials to clean my house. I know there has been a lot written about this, and I am sure I can look it up online, but I have not yet, so hence this is a goal.

I will continue blogging about my progress, and I am sure my skills/goals list will continue to grow.

First steps!

Sam xox