Help? Or, Blogtober Fest Day One!

My first post is a call for help.

Are you doing Softies for Mirabel this year? I want to, but I really want to do something more this year too.

That's where you all come in. I'm hoping, thinking, looking into hiring or using a space this year to have a little class and show some people who are interested in it how to make softies. But I have no idea where to start. I was thinking a first step might be Spotlight? They have sewing machines there, the people know me sort of because I go to class there every Saturday and it's a well known place.

But, what do you think? Have you ever hired somewhere, or arranged a place for Brown Owls or something (free preferably)?

Suggestions would be great!

-Jemma 

Thanks to the lovely Cathy!

Super Quick. Super Tasty. Super Healthy.

-Put chicken in the steamer for about 10 minutes. Add the Chinese broccoli (choy sum) and then cook for another 5 minutes.

-Mix some oyster sauce and garlic and then add some boiling water to heat it up, just a splash. Pour the oyster sauce over the chicken and broccoli. 

-Eat. 

This is my favourite dinner at the moment. If you buy chicken tenderloins you don't even have to waste any time cutting. So this literally takes 15 minutes fridge to belly. I love it!

-Jemma

Badskirt.

I've clearly forgotten how to take photos properly.

Do you like Amy? I like Amy!

She's very clever and gives good tips. Like when she recommended a fabric guillotine, a.k.a my new favourite tool. It actually works too, which is pretty amazing! She's also very nice (in person and online).  

Not to mention her store. She sells very nice fabric! I brought this fabric from her to make my blankie. It's all wrinkly because I sleep with it every night. The back is very very soft fleece that I stole from my mum. Very warm. It's not quilted or anything, but I blanket stitched the whole outside by hand. So that's some points. I might hand tie it somewhere down the line too. It's a bit... mishapen by the morning.

So, go. See Amy!

-Jemma

Baby Swiper

My new nephew that's coming in early October has been named Swiper (of Dora fame) by the oldest boy. That, or pinata...

This is a sneak peak of a quilt I'm making for him. It was going to be a present for being born successfully, but I've decided because of the amount of effort involved it's going to be for Christmas instead.

Pictured too, recommendation from Amy.

-Jemma

10. Go to the Americas

LA - Vancouver - NYC - Washington DC - San Diego - San Francisco - Vegas - LA

Trip planning is well and truly underway. We're going the last three weeks of July 2011 and I'm super excited!

First things to do include getting Damien a passport, working out the itinerary (so many places!), finding out about car rentals/trains/domestic flights in America and looking at Anthropologie catalogs online to see what I can buy.

I'm also going to stop eating between now and then so I can partake in things like the double down and the footlong cheeseburger! (Ew and eww)

Have you ever been to America? Any handy hints, or must sees?



- Jemma

Hello, my name is....

So, I've been thinking about a name change for the blog.

Amityville was thought up in desperation when I first started and no other inspiration was coming. We'd just gotten our first ever pet, Amity, and it seemed like an easy choice.

Lately I haven't been liking it as much and I think it's kind of girly, or childish maybe.... Not to mention that I don't even live in Boronia anymore.

So, I've been thinking and thinking. But again, no inspiration... The one idea that I did have was "Failure by Design". It's a favourite song of mine and it happily reminds me of the Mythbusters motto "Failure is always an option" which I think is a good personal motto to have when you make things. Especially as an amateur. But is it maybe too.... Grim?

I'd love some suggestions! If you think of something that might be good, comment and I'll have a little giveaway too for everyone who suggests something. Just chosen at random, even if I don't go with any of the names suggested. Just a little incentive to have a think! The prize will just be a random little goody bag of some fabrics, trims and such.

So let me know what you think!

- Jemma

More Atticus

Because he's adorable.

-Jemma

AFI Top 100

I decided to use the 10th anniversary list as opposed to the original, just because there’s a more modern selection. I have crossed off the ones that I’ve already seen, no need to go again. But I’ve left off the ones that I know I’ve seen, but have no memory of. I know that I watched some like it hot with my mum in my primary school holidays once, funnily though I remember nothing about the plot. So watch it again I will!

1 CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2 GODFATHER, THE (1972)
3 CASABLANCA (1942)
4 RAGING BULL (1980)
5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
6 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
8 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
9 VERTIGO (1958)
10 WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)
11 CITY LIGHTS (1931)
12 SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
13 STAR WARS (1977)
14 PSYCHO (1960)
15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950)
17 GRADUATE, THE (1967)
18 GENERAL, THE (1927)
19 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
21 CHINATOWN (1974)
22 SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
23 GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
27 HIGH NOON (1952)
28 ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
30 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
31 MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
32 GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
35 ANNIE HALL (1977)
36 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
37 BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
38 TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE (1948)
39 DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
40 SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)
41 KING KONG (1933)
42 BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
44 PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE (1940)
45 SHANE (1953)
46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
47 STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)
48 REAR WINDOW (1954)
49 INTOLERANCE (1916)
50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE (2001)
51 WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
52 TAXI DRIVER (1976)
53 DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
54 M*A*S*H (1970)
55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
56 JAWS (1975)
57 ROCKY (1976)
58 GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
59 NASHVILLE (1975)
60 DUCK SOUP (1933)
61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)
62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
63 CABARET (1972)
64 NETWORK (1976)
65 AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
68 UNFORGIVEN (1992)
69 TOOTSIE (1982)
70 CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
72 SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE (1994)
73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) 50 -23
74 SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
76 FORREST GUMP (1994)
77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
78 MODERN TIMES (1936)
79 WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
80 APARTMENT, THE (1960)
81 SPARTACUS (1960)
82 SUNRISE (1927)
83 TITANIC (1997)
84 EASY RIDER (1969)
85 NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A (1935)
86 PLATOON (1986)
87 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
88 BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
89 SIXTH SENSE, THE (1999)
90 SWING TIME (1936)
91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982)
92 GOODFELLAS (1990)
93 FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
94 PULP FICTION (1994)
95 LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE (1971)
96 DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)
97 BLADE RUNNER (1982)
98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
99 TOY STORY (1995)
100 BEN-HUR (1959)

13 down, uh…. 87 to go…

-Jemma

101 things in 1001 days

Idea from here.

But mostly inspired by this amazing lady. You really need to read her blog. Really, really. 

1. Get better at embroidery.

2. Learn about wines.

3. Organise my kitchen, throw out containers with no lids, make a special place for recipe books and throw out expired things.

4. See old friends, make new friends.

5. Learn to drive a manual car.

6. Get good at crochet.

7. Take portraits of my immediate family, frame and hang.

8. Bake fresh bread every week for 6 months.

9. Sell something in a store.

10. Go to the Americas

11. Do washing before I run out of clean clothes, not after.

12. Make something for charity.

13. Get better at Gocco.

14. Learn to do my hair and make-up really well.

15. Have my posters and prints framed and hang them.

16. Have my own business cards.

17. Collaborate on a project.

18. Walk the dog everyday for a least half an hour

19. Meet more bloggy people in person.

20. Don’t eat any refined sugar for a month.

21. Learn to make soap.

22. Do Pilates

23. Watch the top 100 AFI movies

24. Increase my typing speed.

25. Organise my sewing room really properly - not just big piles in a vague order

26. Throw more things out.

27. Post on my blog everyday for a month (at least)

28. Have a real garden

29. Get a tattoo

30. Finish all of my video games!

31. Have a market stall

32. Donate blood for the first time.

33. Bring my lunch to work at least twice a week.

34. Write a tutorial.

35. Have one of my nephews sleep over.

36. Get a manicure and pedicure.

37. Find out more about my family history.

38. Take more photos.

39. Put $50 a week in my savings account.

40. Clean my linen closet.

41. Make 5 quilts start to finish.

42. Wear more vintage clothes.

43. Alter a complicated patter without help

44. Spend more time outside.

45. Find a hat that compliments me.

46. Learn how to make real coffee.

47. Pay my bills on time.

48. Buy a house

49. Visit central Australia and Perth.

50. See more of my local area.

51. Appreciate my stamp albums and start collecting again.

52. Drink more fresh brewed tea

53. Learn a language

54. Eat at 10 new restaurants.

55. Cook 100 new recipes - at least 20 of which I think are too hard.

56. Take a road trip to Sydney

57. Take piano lessons

58. Make homebrew.

59. Learn to use Photoshop

60. Make my own balms and salves.

61. Teach someone a craft, who’s never done it before.

62. Take a short course at a TAFE - in anything

63. Display my collections.

64. Read 10 books that people have recommended to me. (Suggestions please)

65. Take a cooking class.

66. Learn how to fix my computer when it breaks.

67. Buy a big bookshelf and organise all of my books alphabetically.

68. Enter something into the Royal Melbourne show.

69. Go to the dentist. Gulp.

70. Buy a candy thermometer and use it.

71. Take a pattern making class.

72. Paint a room.

73. Go to a rugby game.

74. Register as an organ donor, and convince as many people as I can to do the same.

75. Have something for sale in a store.

76. Remember to take out the rubbish bins every week.

77. Learn knitting stitches other than knit and purl.

78. Don’t eat take out for a month. (Maybe two)

79. Perfect my pancake recipe

80. Make a dress from my own design

81. Get a clothes dryer of my very own!

82. Eat breakfast everyday for a year.

83. Go to Europe

84. See Damien graduate.

85. Make progress in my job.

86. Organise my fabric in colour order.

87. Don’t walk into anything for a week.

88. Have my own fully stocked tool box.

89. Take a defensive driving course

90. Meet my neighbors.

91. Buy a filing cabinet and have my papers in order.

92. Make all of my Christmas presents one year.

93. Learn to use my camera properly.

94. Don’t eat meat for a month.

95. Make my bed every day for a month, then realise I like it and keep doing it forever!

96. Have waffles for the first time

97. Support local businesses.

98. Make a really good book with all of my recipes. Not worrying about order or how it looks for once.

99. Get a lime tree.

100. Make a custom order, of anything.

101. See snow for the first time.

It's a lot to do in 3 years. Some will be easy, some I already know I won't do. But just having them on the list makes them more of a possibility.

You should make a list too. And if you do, you should post it. So I can see too, and we can inspire each other. If you make a list, leave the link below. 

-Jemma

*in no particular order*

Atticus

Also, I got a puppy.

-Jemma