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

Window shopping.

I spent tonight window shopping on the Shaukat website. My sister-in-law shops online here to buy the Liberty of London fabrics she works with (more about her very soon!).

The first two pieces I want to make (when I get my dressmakers mannequin) is a skirt and a blouse. For the skirt I figured I could use a small print fabric, but for the blouse I think I will need a fabric with a larger print. The website is time-consuming to navigate, so I figured I would jot down in this blog entry what fabrics I have my eye one...

For the skirt:

Eyvonne - £11 per mtr

Betsy - £13 per mtr

All three are Claire-Aude - Betsy - £12 per mtr

Wiltshire - £11 per mtr

For the blouse:

Endfield - £13 per mtr

Ebb and Flow - £13 per mtr

Richard Cooper - £13 per mtr

Ceaser - £12 per mtr

Mauverina - £13 per mtr

Sam xox

A walk in the park.

Jamie and I have had my little brother staying with us this past week. He is a boisterous 10 year old who has kept us on our toes!

Today was his last day with us, so I took him for a walk in the huge park near our house. We are incredibly lucky to have this leafy sanctuary tucked away in our inner-city suburb. We took a bag of stale bread, a picnic rug and a camera; and spent two lovely hours in the winter sunshine.

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