26 October 2020

15 Minute Challenge - Official end of school for Mo

Official classes finished last week for year 12, Mo still has to attend her Design Class on Wednesdays for a few more weeks.  This subject has been a bit hit and miss for Mo, parts of it she has loved and parts of it she has hated and those sessions have caused a lot of anxiety especially this last week.  Thankfully that part is all over and they just have to produce a product in the next few weeks which she is well on the way to completing.  

Her job will start soon she has been doing online training this week and once that is complete she can start work.  That will probably involve a bit more anxiety but I am sure once everything isn't new things will pick up for her and I am sure it is going to be a job she can continue once she starts Uni.  

Maestro has cut down his shifts at work so he can study for exams in a couple of weeks so we have had lots more visits from him, instead of just the hello/goodbye's we have been getting up until recently. 

This weeks 15 minute challenge well it was a 6 out of 7 as one evening I met up with the girls for dinner first time we have met up since February.  It was lovely to return to normal get togethers.

This week I've been doing my tiny cross stitch, still not loving the 1 thread over 1 linen thread, but I'm nearing the end.  I'm still one project behind but I might skip to the latest project as it is another drum and I don't really like the previous project so may pick another one from the book to do in its place.  I have plenty of thread left over.  


 

Mo went to a halloween/end of school party on the weekend. She went as Peppa Pig.  I was called on to make pigs ears and a snout.  She painted her hair pink and her face, glued eyes to the sides of her face as Peppa's face is always side on and made a tail to go on her orange dress.  We could get Wellies but she also wears black shoes so that finished the outfit.  


How did you go this week.  Check who met the challenge this week




19 October 2020

15 Minutes and A Finish

Its been a good week for the challenge 7 out 7.  Work has been quiet which means I haven't had to catch up on too much after our big September.  I talked to the boss today and its probably because he hasn't been absent doing work travel/conferences this time of year so things aren't left until he is around.  Wonder if we can make it a policy in the future.  

I have finished the Blackbird button bag, here is the picture all pretty resting against my antique sewing machine.  The next project is 1 thread over 1 linen thread a bit of a challenge something I probably won't be repeating anytime soon.  




More crochet was done and I managed to work out a decent layout of the colours, playing with my second sampler pack when it arrived.  Still haven't finished the first pack worth of granny squares but I think I will try and get half of it together if I have enough cream.    

Last week of offical classes for school for Mo this week.  She has only one more assignment to hand up for year 12.  We picked up here potters wheel on the weekend, she can still get things fired at school for a few more weeks so she wants to throw some more pots over the next few weeks.  


So how did your week go.  Head to Kate's to see how everyone is traveling.




12 October 2020

15 Minute Challenge Back to School

Mo went back to school today.  She was a little bit cranky this morning but seems to have brightened up this afternoon.  Yesterday she finished her Art Prac and I helped her put them in frames.  Photo's have been taken these are what are submitted to the board for grading.  

There has been no more dress making progress but I'm guessing she will get back to it once school is finished 2 weeks and 3 Wednesdays (Design Class) to go and she will be done.  

We went and had a formal dress fitting for the hem to be done.  The shop was a zoo, all the schools have left formals till the end of the year, luckily we had an appointment as they said they had to close the shop to more customers earlier in the day as they had reach their max people allowed in the space.  I'm glad we took the gamble of getting her dress early.  

There isn't any news of when she starts her job yet, so it looks like she will be well and truly finished with school before she needs to start.  

I've managed to make time for crochet, sewing and cross stitch everyday this week.  It was a long weekend last week and I had an extra day off which was lovely though I had to really hustle at work to get things done.  I'm planning on having 5 weeks off starting in early December this year so I can spend some more time with Mo and Maestro (if he isn't working too much).  DH is hoping to have a similar break, he has already started working out his summer projects.  

I traced a couple of more smitten blocks and just about finished the cross stitch I have been working on, tonight should have the cross stitch all done and I can make up the bag on the weekend.


These are all my granny squares, I nearly have run out of coloured balls, but I was able to get another sample pack so I should be able to make a 10 x 10 blanket out of them now.  The cream is on back order  so I have given up on alternative cream blocks, so I will undo what I have done and use that for the edge.  I am going to start putting them together once the first group of sample colours is done.  Not sure how I am going to do the colours if i will just do pot luck or arrange in colour rows like the original design.  





06 October 2020

15 Minute Challenge and Dressmaking 101

 First week of school holidays is gone, Mo did a couple of job interviews, one was for a Xmas casual position at Spotlight (which is a sewing/craft/homewares store) and the other was an ongoing casual position at Kmart.  She didn't like the woman that interviewed her at Spotlight but liked the attitude of the woman at Kmart and they seemed more flexible with working arrangements.   They called her the next day to say she had the job and to come down and collect her starter pack.  

They set her up with a login and she has to do some online training and then she will start work.  I was really impressed with all the documentation she got it was very thorough... more information than I have ever gotten before I started a job.  

Over the weekend we started dressmaking 101.  The dress is probably a bit more complicated than it needs to be for a first attempt but Mo has followed along patiently every step of the way.  I have a feeling we may have needed to do a bigger size.  She keeps telling me she is a rectangle and she doesn't have a waist now I'm tending to agree, her bust size keeps fooling me. Luckily the pattern has a D cup alternative pattern pieces otherwise I would have had to try and remember how to do Bust alteration.    We have adjusted a couple of the seams and it fits the mannequin now we may need to do another adjustment at the waist.






Sewing/crochet wise it was only a 5 out of 7 week this week.  With Mo heading to 2 interviews and then getting a job I had to deal with Mo's anxiety.  She anxious about a presentation she is expected to do at school that they have just sprung on her.  She has been struggling with dealing with a woman that was brought in to mentor them in her Design Course and then the last week of school they said Mo has to do a pitch to her group.  

There was a bit of progress of cross stitch and I did some more granny squares.  After finishing the wrong colour on some of the flowers but I like the darker blue.  



We have had a long weekend and I have taken an extra day off.  More dress making today I think but Mo and I have had a sleep in.  

Well that's it for this week.  Hope you have had a good one.