Dress for a Cause

Just popping in to post a sneak preview of a little girl's dress I've been working on over the last week. 

"Whose little girl?" I hear you ask.

Well, that's still to be determined!  You see, we're going to be auctioning off the dress to raise money for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

It's not quite ready to go yet, but if you pop back in a few days, I'll be listing the auction right here on our blog, with all the details.

Hope to see you then!

MoederKip xxx

I 'Heart' Mail

A couple of very special packages arrived in the mail this week, so I just had to share the joy.

The first was from my partner in the Essential Baby Haberdashery Swap - a delightful little grab-bag of goodies from Xenabonjovi.  Not only was it full of everything a sewing chic needs (from totally practical pins and needles, to outrageously frivolous bright orange buttons), but it was also wrapped up so beautifully, I almost didn't want to open it!

              

My second parcel arrived from the lovely Trash, as part of I'm a Ginger Monkey's Fat Quarter Swap '09.  And what a parcel it was...

Not only did I get my expected 2 Fat Quarters, but I also got a third.  And not the stuff from the bottom of her stash either - we're talking 1. Amy Butler; 2. Crazy Spots; and 3. Beautiful Matryoshka Dolls.  There was also some beautiful ric rac and buttons; and finally, some cute little Valentines inspired straws and decorations.  Just delicious.  :-)  sigh...

Oh, and while we're talking about Trash, please go check out her website, where she is raffling off all sorts of hand-made prizes for people who donate to the Australian or British Red Cross Bushfire Appeals.  Go on, check it out.  You know you want to.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

And what's on the other side?

***

While on the train this week, I happened to glance out the window, and saw this.

I was immediately transported back to 1979, when a little green frog named Kermit sang of the magic of rainbows.  So if on last Wednesday you happened to be on the Sunbury train, and found yourself sitting next to a crazy lady singing 'The Rainbow Connection', well, that was me.

It doesn't get more silly, or more sappy, than this.  But you know what? After the horrors of the week, a little bit of rainbow magic has done wonders for the soul.  

While wanting to do something to help those impacted by the fires, I must admit to have been feeling a little overwhelmed, and subsequently unmotivated.  

However, our world is hurting.  So no matter how difficult it is, we just need to put on our big girl panties and get on with the job.  

First up is to donate some of the many many bags of toiletries we've picked up from planes and trains but not used over the last few years when we were travelling.

And we don't have much in the way of cash, but I do have fabric, and yarn, and I can knit and sew. And Paul is pretty good with his hands too.  So we will sit down this weekend, and join in one of the many 'hand made' initiatives to either make things people need, or make things that can be auctioned off with the money made to be donated.

It's time for action in the Henhouse!

Now, come on. Don't be shy. I know you want to. Sing along...

Rainbows are visions.

They're only illusions.

Rainbows have nothing to hide.

So we've been told and some choose to believe it.

But I know they're wrong wait and see.

Someday we'll find it.

The rainbow connection.

The lovers.

The dreamers.

And me.

Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher

Just Devastating

No other word for it really.

So far, 700 homes lost. Including one whole town.

So far, 65 people and countless animals dead.

And the fires continue to burn.

And all we can do is hope for no more to come.

A Hot Summer Night...

It reached 47 Degrees today. For those of you experiencing a northern hemisphere winter right now, I'll just point out that we are talking about 47 Celsius. That's 116 Degrees Fahrenheit.

That's hot.

In fact the hottest day on record here in Melbourne.

Oh, and the winds reached around 82km/hour in our neck of the woods. That's about 50 miles/hour.

A pretty deadly combination of heat and wind, resulting in some major bushfires spreading throughout the state.

My next post was actually going to be to show off our beautiful vege garden that Paul recently finished, however unfortunately all the lovely photos we took are now 'Before' shots -with the garden currently looking a little worse for wear.

So first up is our beautiful garden, as it looked last week... followed by a picture of how our tomato plants shaped up after the heat of the day.

A little disappointing after all the hard work that Paul has put in - although nothing that they can't recover from. And really, as we sit in our air-conditioned room, sipping on a glass of wine, we are just thankful that a few dry plants is the worse thing we have to worry about tonight.

And we spare a thought for the many people who have lost their homes in today's bushfires; and for the wonderful CFA crews who are out there still, doing all they can to prevent further devastation

Stay cool everyone.

Oh, so you like free fabric do you?

Ok, I'm a bit new at this blogging thing.

So I thought I'd try my hand at I'm a Ginger Monkey's giveaway. A nice opportunity to share some lovely fabric, and maybe get a few people stop by and say hello.

Maybe 20 or 30 people if I was really lucky.

Check this out...

Yep, that's right. 141 people have stopped by to say hello. Including lots of people who even took the time to read back through the blog and say lovely things. What an amazing bunch you lot are! I just wish I had more fabric to give away to more people!

We've been a bit overwhelmed by all the responses, so haven't had time to return the favour. But we will certainly be taking the time over the coming weeks to visit you and say hello also. We're really looking forward to broadening our list of blogs we follow with more amazing, creative and like-minded people from all over the world!

I also just wanted to say how pleased we were to see that people not only wanted to win free fabric, but were truly excited about this particular set of fabric. Frog Chow is a personal favourite here at the Henhouse, and will be truly difficult to part with. As will the gorgeous Alice, those cheeky little retro dogs, and the playing children. So knowing that they will go to someone who appreciates them as much as we do, is fantastic.

Anyway, now that I've made you sit through that little rant, I'd better get onto the reason that you're here.

Drum roll please....

Congratulations Comment Number 97 - which I've worked out to be Uberbitch from the United States.

If you could please email me your address (my email is on the profile page), your little package of FQs will be winging its way to you very soon.

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by, and please do keep in touch.

MoederKip xxx

Five Free Fun Fat Quarters!!

Well, it's finally here... Wednesday the 4th February 2007 is the Great International Stash Busting Giveaway.

And this is how it works...


Step 1. Say hello! Just leave a comment here, and you'll automatically go into the draw to win a pack of five fat quarters from my stash (pictured below). These are all fun, retro prints, so I hope they bring as much joy to you as they have to us. Remember, everyone can play - doesn't matter if you have a blog or not, or where you live. This one is for everyone!

Left to Right:

1. Frog Chow; 2. Alice in Wonderland; 3. Playday; 4. Retro Dogs Pink; 5. Retro Dogs Blue

Step 2. While you're here, feel free to have a look around, comment on any of our other entries, or even sign up to follow our blog (easy to do, just click on the link on the right hand side of the page). I hope you enjoy your visit, and your little glimpse into our world here at MoederKip!

Step 3. Click on the button at the very top of this post (the one with the pretty fabric pictures that says "IAGs Stash-Busting Giveaway") to go to I'm A Ginger Monkey's Blog. This is where it all started, and you'll find links to 50 (yes fifty!) other Bloggers who are also offering free fabric today.

Step 4. Make a cup of tea (or pour a glass of wine, depending on the time of day), sit back and spend some time signing up for the opportunity to win fabric giveaways from all around the world.

Step 5. Check back here on Friday 6th February Lunchtime (Australia time!), when I'll be announcing the winner of my giveway.

Happy Stash Busting All!