My art is my outlet

Reappearance

2011-01-17T18:55:00.005+11:00

Happy New Year! We might as well do all the holiday greetings in the one post, since the blog will possibly miss out on them too. Poor neglected blog.

For you bloggy peeps here’s a new house block (sorry about the friggin poor light)…part of that sew-a-thon swag late last year? I know, I know. There’s been a drought of crafty projects round these parts. Lots of stuff cut up and started. None finished.

I can't promise to be regular in this space anymore, since I've proven abysmal with appearances. I've been too preoccupied with a new online obsession, too. Pinterest? Some of you would have seen it around the interwebs. I've been waiting for the invite for what seems like ages. So when I spotted it in the inbox I pounced. Best online invention ever! And if I go missing again, you know where to find me.

Hope everyone had a great time over the holidays!

Cheerio!

Knitter hacker

2010-12-14T10:03:00.003+11:00

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm keeping this blog real and show you the trial that is this cardigan. This may be the cardigan that never will.

The pattern was from this Knit Simple issue. Of course they left out the collar till the on-line errata. Months later.

To be fair, I did finish the dang thing Sunday night......weelll into the night. I tried it on, in the humid heat and it looked several kinds of daggy awful. The collar was attached on the wrong edge, as I figured out a bit later on. The buttons were too small, they kept popping out of the humungous button holes.

And it just didn't sit right around the waist area. The shoulders and sleeves were good, so it wasn't the tension. Maybe I need a new waist?

Hacked into it, I did. Removed the buttons and the collar. Now I'm going to rest this project awhile until I find bigger buttons and get to grips with failure. He he he!

Anyhow, I'll start another winter cardi for the kiddo. Sucker for punishment? Yep, that's me.

While I'm here, anyone want to take this Interweave Knits Weekend mag off my hands. I stupidly bought two by mistake.

Cheerio, bloggy peeps! Hope your week is good!

PS. Thank you for your kind words about the kiddo's top!

PPS. Sorry for the delay....I blame the day job. Lesley, the magazine is yours! Please send me your snail mail addy to jade(dot)ghenzer(at)gmail(dot)com.

Ice cream top

2010-12-12T17:01:00.004+11:00

You know a finished sewn thing is a winner....

if the wearer starts pulling....

goofy poses. Lots of them. Now she won't take it off. (Sorry about the dark pics, atrocious light!)

I used the blouse version of this pattern from Oliver + S. Fabric is some cotton flowery print from the stash. I can't for the life of me remember where I got it from.

Easy peasy pattern to sew and I love that little notch on the neckline. I have some gingham checks queued up to sew in this same pattern next.

But next on the list.....must finish the cardigan tonight!

Cheerio, peeps!

Sew-a-thon swag part 2

2010-11-19T20:12:00.001+11:00

Fixated. I've been so fixated with finishing up the cardigan, it's eating up my very scant blog-reading and posting time.

Anyhow, this is the other garment I managed to zip through the sewing machines all those weeks ago now. So long ago, I'll be needing another soon.

It's my summer linen frock, made of Italian linen from the stash. But if I recall I picked up this gem from Tesutti three years ago, saving it up for the perfect pattern marriage. The fabric colour is navy with a slight charcoal grey tint to it.

I used a Citronille pattern called "Suzanne", which almost didn't happen. Ack! I thought I cut the correct size, sewed and ironed, tried it on. The frigging thing was swimming huge. I wanted to throw that dress into the nearest bin to burn. Thankfully, the craft camp ladies provided ideas and support to rescue it from disaster.

To make a long story short, that frock has lots of modifications from the original pattern. Not that I could read it anyway, my handy frog wasn't around. But that shouldn't stop anyone from trying Citronille patterns. So go forth and sew!

I'm going back to the couch and knit some more sleeve rows. It's late Friday evening here right now, so I'm turning off the computer, get a cup of tea and put my feet up.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Cheerio!

Sew-a-thon swag part 1

2010-11-08T19:19:00.003+11:00

Could not decide which finished garment to show first....it was a toss up. Please excuse the creases. We were in a rush and the geezer was literally snapping these pics as we walked out the door yesterday.

Anyhow, you may have seen a different version of this dress here or here. I personally love this pattern. Just cut in one piece from extremely drapey knit fabric. I chose this soft mauve cotton modal from where else.

This was the already cut-up dress pattern and fabric that was patiently waiting to be sewn up......for three months. I was planning to take this to Hawaii. Gah!

Slightly different neck and armhole finishing than the pattern. I also left the hem unfinished, as I like the slouchy look when it sort of rolls back on itself. I've decided to use it more as a tunic top instead of a dress, scrunching the bottom up to get the grungy, slouchy look.

Looks great with this pair of purple tie-dye tights I picked up for ten buckeroonies in a hippy market up in Taree last month. Just throw on a jacket and you're ready to go.

Cheerio!

If you can't beat em

2010-11-06T22:27:00.004+11:00

I'm the most apathetic blogger ever. Two weeks feels too long to be away from the internets...and I did get my crafting mojo back by the way. Thanks, bloggy peeps, for the encouragement!

I ran away and joined this merry bunch for our regular sew-a-thon last weekend. The geezer and the kiddo had to fend for themselves. I was super productive, I even surprised myself!

Ah, ladies, thanks for another fabulous getaway! I so needed it. Work was driving me around the bend.

Anyhow, last weekend there was much talk about so-and-so tweeting this and that, I knew I was seriously out of the loop. Dang this day job! And since, I've been so sporadic in this space, I've taken the leap and joined the tweeting sisterhood.

I'm right here @dizzyjadey, wanna be friends? Don't get your hopes up, though. Blogging with only a few choice words takes real skill. So if you receive a twitter invite from me recently, I'm not stalking. Just joining.

Cheerio!

PS. I'll save the sewing show-and-tell for a few posts.

Nada

2010-10-24T17:05:00.002+11:00

I seem to have lost the crafting feeling.....but part of me is wanting badly to be sewing, knitting, stitching, anything-making. Consequence of this sporadic blogging perhaps? Consequence of a five-day very full-on work week. I feel like I'm hardly ever here anymore. *woe*

That knitting project hasn't moved since I rested it in late August. And I'm procrastinating again. Really I need to get off my arse and kick my own backside if I could. Cos I really want to sew some summer clothes.

I even deliberately took work home this weekend, so that I can procrastinate on that with some sewing. I did some reading and web-surfing instead. Hmmm.

Here's hoping this will pass soon!

Cheerio, bloggy peeps!

Cheese-y shots

2010-10-04T16:27:00.005+11:00

I hear you, peeps! I'm here....and I've been gallivanting. So get set as I inflict you with some cheese-y holiday pics. Two glorious, warm, sunny weeks in Hawaii. Ah, I'm missing it already!

We took a drive through the middle of the island, looked at a look-out and instructed the kid to strike pose.

We boarded a boat that took us to a submarine.

We went down the hatch and said hello to the fishies. Lots of fishies and giant sea turtles.

We also took in our first luau. By the way, its the geezer's 12th time and my second in Hawaii, and yes we were all luau "virgins". Anyhow, we came for the hula dancing, the fire eating and the plain old lots-of-eating. Cue another cheese-y shot.

And another.

And yet another (are you tired yet?)......the kid wanted a photo with the parrots. One of them nearly gouged my scalp!

Well, that's it till the next trip.

Nothing crafty to report, except I've got a cut up dress near the sewing machine waiting to be whizzed through.

There's also the last third of a cardigan sleeve to knit up. I'm in a bit of a conundrum about that. The instructions for the second sleeve just says "knit up as with the left sleeve but in reverse"....que??? Totally lost I am. I'm sure the fourth time I try muddle through it'll fall into place and presto! It'll be done.

No other craft-related happenings, just lots of boring ordinary life "stuff" getting in the way of blogging. Which I won't clutter up this space with.

Here's hoping the next post is crafty. Hope you've all had a great long weekend!

Cheerio!

Woolly minded

2010-07-04T19:15:00.002+10:00

Sorry about that, bloggy peeps. Getting you excited, then pulling the disappearing act.

I had picked up the dreaded lurgy about a fortnight ago and haven't been able to shake it off. Perhaps the kid sneezed into my face, perhaps the cold snap is seeping into my bones, perhaps I picked up the germs from the office.....either way I was bunged up again last week and in bed with lemon tea.

Nothing to do but turn this yarn (purchased from here)

Into this warm beanie for the kid's noggin. I failed miserably with the double pointed needles, but managed to do well using the magic loop technique, thanks to Claudine.

The geezer's neverending scarf is also finished. Phew!

Except it seems to be warming my neck more often than his.....oops.

I've acquired some yarn to make him something in time for next winter. In the meantime he can share this with me. Hee hee!

And just to get linky with you, if you're a mad John Mayer fan like me, then you'll enjoy this. I can't stop listening to it over and over. Unfortunately, the mp3 file is no longer available, but nobody's stopping me from hitting "play".....which I'll be doing again shortly, while the head's still feeling fluffy.

Hope you're weekend is good!

Cheerio!

Yet another liberty print

2010-06-13T18:58:00.004+10:00

I was going to be clever and organised having already pre-written this blog post last week. (Photos materialised this week when the rain stopped) Except after a week it all seems contrived and silly now. So here you go.....new week, new fresh words to caption these pics.

I've been playing with another liberty print from Tesutti. This was my take-along project to the sewing weekend a fortnight ago. I used pattern B from this japanese craft book.

I can't rave about this pattern/fabric combination enough. The Liberty fabric is so pretty. I believe its called Hall Drive. It's now sold out in Tesutti, but I think it's still available online from the usual purveyors of Liberty.

Testament to how great the blouse is, I've actually deemed it good enough to wear with my corporate pinstripe skirt to my very corporate-y work place. And I have. Twice.

In fact, I'll remind myself to sew on a label this weekend. Then I can pretend I bought it from a boutique. He he he!

Anyhow, I've got another project awaiting to be sewn, and the night is still young. If we're all lucky, I can finish it tonight and we can do show-n-tell tomorrow.

Have a good weekend, bloggy peeps!

Cheerio!

Craft weekend

2010-06-05T19:58:00.004+10:00

Oops, didn't I mention? All that pattern tracing and paper cutting was in preparation for going away. To the sea side holiday house with these lovely peeps.

Another great weekend of sewing, eating and laughing last week was had by all. Thanks very much, ladies! I managed to forget about the kiddo and the geezer......which is ahh ummm, bad, but also good.

I had so much fun! I'm hanging out for the next one already.

For the rest of you bloggy peeps, here's the traditional feet portrait. I'll reveal what I whipped up next post

Cheerio!

PS. Photos courtesy of Belinda, our resident pic-snapper and organiser.

Craftless

2010-05-23T16:37:00.003+10:00

But full of hope. Always full of hope.

There's still no finished project. However, I've been spending our cold, wet and drippy weekend tracing and cutting out patterns on tissue paper. Two blouses, to be exact. They're waiting to be pinned and the fabrics sliced.

I also re-threaded the overlocker first go without having conniptions. Hooray! Fireworks! Dancing monkeys clinking cymbals! Star jumps and the kiddo walking like the egyptian.......you get the drift. It doesn't take much to celebrate around here. Cheap thrills? You betcha.

So just checking in before a whole month goes by without my blather. How fast is this month going?! Gah!

Whoever thought up that being busy is a virtue should be slapped. I'm longing for the long, lazy, lots-of-time-to-write-up-a-blog-post-in-my-head kind of days. I'm crossing my fingers we can change the status quo around here.

Hope your weekend is smashing!

Cheerio!

A lot less slippery

2010-04-18T17:23:00.004+10:00

Another month bites the dust and still no finished scarf for the geezer. (a whole month's disappearance from the blog, too) It's a tad slow growing. Whereas the month has been a blur.

In between several slow-poke rows, I managed to trace, cut up and sew a new blouse. Except this isn't the best angle, no?

It's getting on in the late afternoon, the light is poor, but here tis. A very floaty drapey cotton-silk blend from Tesutti, with darts and three-quarter sleeves.

I found the pattern in this japanese craft book, another goody.

Here's another pic to show where the hem falls. I cut the hem a full three inches longer than the pattern, so that it falls below my hips a la tunic length. Kiddo, of course, had to think she was the subject of the photo.

The top creases easily, but otherwise wears very well. It looks cute on with both jeans and those low slung crotch pants, which I have a pair of.

Another adventure I had to go through while sewing this top was learning how to thread the overlocker 'cos I needed to serge the seams in black. What a debacle that was!

Ooooh, I love this fabric so much that I'll be sewing with more cotton-silk blends from now on. Just gotta find the next perfect pattern. And while I'm looking, its back to the geezer's scarf rows for me.

Till next time.

Cheerio!

Brown paper packages

2010-03-06T16:05:00.004+11:00

I don't normally gush about craft books in this place, but I just got this from here and if you're into sewing clothes......what a great resource! I've been thinking about the winter wardrobe lately, having had enough of this humid heat. Doesn't help when I'm ogling swoon-worthy boots like these and these. Ay caramba! Thank heavens one of them is out-of-stock or I may have to list the kiddo on ebay.

Having checked the state of my wardrobe, I will be needing a new tailored winter jacket, preferably woolly. My mum, of all times, comes to my rescue. Cos lookee!

Don't even ask me how much metreage is in there, I haven't been game to un-roll and measure it. Three different colours of Harris Tweed, one of which will be the future wool jacket as soon as I find the perfect pattern and tailor (cos I don't want to ruin the fabric).

To top that, my mum also handed me the bottom of the two below, also tweed last week when we visited. The grey fabric on top is a soft light-weight wool flannel, I think.

Actually, she was handing me two more bags of fabric to take away, but the geezer put his foot down. The sewing room is now overflowing, there are no more free cupboards.

If I wasn't me and looking right now at myself I'd probably think I'm a hoarder. Hmmm, maybe I am. Maybe one day I'll show you how big the stash has grown just to see how out-of-control it is. Eeeek!

Anyhow, back to the cutting of the next project. Gotta eat into that stash somehow.

Cheerio!

PS. Thank you, bloggy peeps, for your nice words about the kiddo's pink dress. I was going mental with her wanting everything pink overnight. A lady who used to babysit told me once that all girls go into this princess stage, where they want lots of over-powering pink and princessey toys. She also mentioned not to make a big deal out of it and it will pass....into the next phase, no doubt. Whatever that is. So I'm okay to give in to a bit of pink. For now. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Embracing the pink

2010-02-28T17:40:00.002+11:00

I gave up and gave in. But there's rules, mind you. Absolutely no head-to-toe pink! Over my dead body! Okay, this pink frock is kinda subdued. Fine. But I still get the last word while you're living under my roof, young lady.

It's from this japanese craft book, pattern D-1.......except I scooped and shirred the centre front. I also played around with my spanking shiny ruffler foot, to add some length to the bottom and more drape to the dress.

One last modification (I couldn't help myself), a separate elastic casing to the back, to match the fabric on the ties. It looks so sweet!

She's been prancing around in it for the last couple of hours, so thumbs up I reckon!

Yes, I'm back to stroking the fabric and revving the machines again. It felt restful to be pottering around in the sewing room. I've already queued up the next project.

Okeydokes, I gotta potter back to the meatball pasta. The troops are grumbling.

Hope you're all having a great weekend! Cheerio!

Holiday snaps

2010-02-16T17:49:00.002+11:00

Can I still be on holiday? Puhleeze? I'm in big-time denial. Huge.

We had clear skies, hot sunny days.....really the best weather, even though it was sprinkling back in Sydney.

This is the view from the front porch of the cottage.....where I did a bit of knitting. I can almost smell the salty sea air just looking at these photos.

As you walk up to the lighthouse and look down to the beach, you can see the main lighthouse keeper's cottage. We stayed in the assistant keeper's cottage, just behind the trees to the right.

And that was the perfect beachy, do-nothing, laze-about holiday!

I'm still dealing with the yarnage. He he he!

Cheerio!

PS. Thank you everyone for your lovely comments about the kiddo's cardi. Even though it's madness in this heat and humidity, I have this weird compulsion to work on yarn projects. I'm sure it will soon pass. Then we can get back to feeling up the fabric.

Heat crazed

2010-01-26T18:43:00.002+11:00

I'm definitely losing my marbles....since I seem to be the only ninny who would knit in this heat.

But I'm on a mission. So with the help of these two books, I finally casted-off, blocked and buttoned the cardigan for the kiddo. My second knitted thing and my first real knitted garment. Woohoo!

Soft, old rosy pink Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino yarn from I forgot where (it only took me six months to make this) and pink-ish tortoiseshell buttons from Tesutti, acquired last year.

Don't look too closely. There's so many mistakes in this one. Most of it is hidden in the seams and the rest, well, I'm not going to show. So let's just pretend its a pretty good specimen of woolliness. After all, this appears to be the year that I'm into up-skilling and expanding my crafty knowledge. First, the slippery sewing and now with the garment knitting.

Next I'll be casting on a scarf for the geezer, since apparently I don't make anything for him. It'll be the perfect beach holiday past time, 'cos we're off driving up the coast tomorrow (bound for here) and I'll need to keep my fingers busy.

Just to show you how hot and stinky it was today, here's little miss sweaty face on this morning's walk up at the Gap Park.

Cheerio! And for the locals......Happy Australia Day!

Small tiny quilt

2010-01-09T14:47:00.003+11:00

I've taken a break from the clothes sewing to do a bit of a refurbishment.....with this tiny super mini quilt. Again, everything you see is from the scrap box.

The old quilt was hideous.

Why, thank you! I'm glad you like your new quilt. (Refurbishing the kiddo's doll house)

Okay, you run along now back to your party.

We got the kiddo the doll house last year for her birthday......its endless fun. For the kiddo and for me, as you can see.

Hmmm, I'll have to tackle that tablecloth next.

Cheerio!

Slippery

2010-01-03T14:53:00.003+11:00

My first post for the new year! Woo hoo!....about my first finished crafty project.

I found out about this Cynthia Rowley pattern from this place in the blogosphere. It looked cute. It looked easy. I'll attempt it sewing with this digital print silk from Tessuti. Very ambitious. Quick project, no?

I have sooo much to learn! Argh! I'll sum up the entire ordeal with this - silk sewing is friggin' slippery. While cutting it was moving. While gathering the sleeve cuffs it was moving. While sewing it was moving.

I had to unpick, recut and reshape the neckline after a major stuff-up, where I couldn't get it to sit flat. Puckers everywhere, wonky stitching, you name it. I wanted to cut this thing to shreds.

So this is more of a boat shaped neckline (the aftermath of my scissor attack on the original neckline). Very comfy and with the right bling, kinda hip-looking.

I can see how this dress can be sewn up in two hours (it took me two days), if you're using a cotton-ish type of fabric. Next time, if there ever is a next time, I'll scale back to a silk-cotton blend.

Hope everyone had a great new year transition!

Trying out Liberty

2009-12-29T17:54:00.004+11:00

Well, it was grey, drab and the skies were bucketing down in Sydney. I ended up picking up my fave rainy day distraction......sewing. This was me prepping the cutting table. Our dining table. Ha!

I was inspired by this starry Liberty fabric (cute frock!) but decided to mix it up with the pretty Meg pattern from Citronille. Really, if I can decipher japanese characters, I must be able to figure out the French language. After all, I'm living with a near-frog.

Except the geezer got schtumped with some of the sewing jargon. Ah well! At least he knew the bits that mattered, like seam allowance, stitching lines and fabric. We all have our limits.

So here tis, my version of Meg. Except, I modified the pattern loads by adding inside facings to the top part of the dress, shirred the midsection (didn't want the muu-muu look) and added some emergency length to the hem. Yep, I persuaded the geezer to drive by Tesutti this morning to get another half metre just to finish the hem. I already had the pretty Liberty fabric from a spur-of-the-moment online shopping session one night in November.

You can sort of see where I added to the hem in the photo below. Note to self, the French like their hemlines to mid-thigh. Very, very short.

Now I'm just debating if I should add two more rows of shirring on the bottom part of that waist. What do you reckon, bloggy peeps? Is it enough?

Hmm, I'm definitely looking a lot more hip-py nowadays. Bye bye, waist. Hello middle age spread!

Cheerio, folks! I think I'll do a power walk around the block and try get rid of Christmas dinner.

Holiday blather

2009-12-28T11:55:00.002+11:00

Another Christmas down the hatch! That was quick wasn't it?!

Hope everyone listened to heaps of cheesy carols (on repeat), had loads of presents (which you liked), dollops of pudding and roast, cuddles from grandma and slobbery kisses of from little children. We did.

And now I'm off to recover from the marathon cooking and eating session that was the weekend. Maybe do some sewing. Perhaps maybe some crafting? Now, if it would only stop raining...

Hope everyone had a cheery happy Christmas!

PS. Sorry to the bloggy peeps who saw this same accidental post on The Craft Room blog. It would appear I've been away from this space for so long I've forgotten how to work with blogger. Dang!

Owlish bubble dress

2009-11-07T11:13:00.004+11:00

Could this pattern be any more perfect?

I've been admiring the garments made with the Oliver+S patterns (and have quite a few in the stash). The bubble dress is actually quite simple to make up. I just needed to find two whole afternoons and some patience to sew it up.

'Cos I just knew that hurrying the sewing will just ruin this cute dress. (Fabric is a cotton voile from Tessuti and some plain cotton voile for the lining)

The kiddo's given me the thumbs up. Methinks this will be her fave summer romp-around frock.

And its great for building sand forts.

Cheerio, bloggy peeps!

So there you go

2009-11-05T18:23:00.004+11:00

My little sis went off to get hitched and it turned out to be a beautiful affair. I hear someone ask for photos.......I just got these in from a good friend.

The venue was perfect.

The flowers were sweet and lovely.

The kiddos were very cute and and well behaved.....mostly.

And we three of us actually ended up in a photo for the first time in years. Normally, I'm behind the camera snapping away.

Hope everyone's having a good week! I'll head back into my impromptu blog break. Work is taking up all of my energy and sleep taking up my spare time.

I'll have something crafty for you this weekend. Just waiting for some good light.

Cheerio!

A different turn

2009-10-05T13:15:00.002+11:00

I've been putting this one off for a while. Those confounding flower girl dresses.

With only two weeks to my little sister's wedding, I really needed a swift kick up the arse. So two days ago I started the stitching (yes, needle and thread, not glue gun, although I seriously considered this) and hours later all finished.

Three flower girl dresses, with purple rosettes hand-stitched down the bodice. The kiddo's twirled in hers already. So cute!

And now I can go back to the regular crafting on this 'ere blog.

Patterns have been traced and cut. I just gotta get on with it.........after I rest my sore fingers first.

Cheerio! And hope your weekend wasn't as wet and soggy as ours.

The weekend that was

2009-09-21T19:55:00.004+10:00

I couldn't have capped off a fortnight away from work better than spending some quality time in a beautiful getaway with this fabulous bunch of ladies. And may I say that our organiser has outdone herself in finding this gem of a place.

Words aren't enough this time, so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

Oooh, yes. I actually finished this summer toppity top. The beautiful sheer cotton voile fabric is from Tesutti and the pattern (with some minor alterations) is from this japanese craft book.

Till next time, ladies! I can hardly wait.

And to you, bloggy peeps, hope you have a good week ahead.

Cheerio!

PS. All photos on this post courtesy of Ms Tutti Fruiti cos I brought so much stuff, had to choose between the bernina and camera. Thanks heaps, Belinda!

Derailed

2009-09-18T01:34:00.002+10:00

Oops! We've gone off the rails on this 'ere blog. How long have I been gone?

Sorry peeps! The brood (we three) went up far north to go native and catch some rays for a week.

There was a lot of sight seeing.

A bit of trekking.

And lots of posing.

I'm missing the hot weather already!

In the meantime, I must go pack for a sewing weekend quick smart. We'll be here by tomorrow afternoon.....and I'll be fixing the distinct absence of crafty by next post.

Cheerio!

Whirlwind

2009-08-23T16:23:00.003+10:00

It all started with a rocket launch in the wee hours of yesterday, a real life rocket launch. You see, bloggy peeps, my day job is spent in a big corporate and we were all in a tizz Friday afternoon about this rocket launch. Everything was over in a minute, but the buzz and the countdown was still amazing. See what a geek I am?!

Then the real excitement happened. I had known for a while that this was happening again in Sydney-town. So after reassuring the geezer that I wasn’t about to go hooning on the roads and letting the kiddo know I’ll be back in a half-a-day, off I went.

And I didn’t buy any fabric! I know! Must be PMS.

Had I bought fabric only, I would’ve probably parted with less. But I’m already putting some of these on the present pile for that big-holiday-at-the-end-of-the-year-I-don’t-want-to-name…….don’t panic.

This piece of fabric (and yes I said I made no fabric purchase) was a lovely gift from Jenny of Amitie who put it in my hands and ran away before I could gather my wits and my wallet. You see, I had been admiring this piece of Liberty on her blog a few months ago, when the new order got delivered, patiently waiting for it to make an appearance in her online shop. Here was me thinking “new summer dress”. Pretty!

But it sold out as soon as it hit her shelves. She remembered me when she spotted this last fat quarter.

Thank you, Jenny! That was very thoughtful. You shouldn’t have, but I’m so glad you did!

Here’s another pic of the loot. And I was restrained. Yarn from Lush Yarns, some knitting needles, platypus and quilt pattern from the lovely Kate (who I finally met! Very exciting!), hippo pattern from Cathy & Louise alias Audrey & Maude, Mixtapezine Number 8 from Justine

And last but not least ribbons from Tamara, a Craftapalooza apple pin cushion and the prettiest princess & pea skirt, all from Belinda’s booth…..the kiddo donned that skirt the minute she saw it.

Of course the best part of the show was catching up with old friends (even if it was just to wave and air-kiss) and meeting new ones….specially the ones that I’d only previously chatted with via comments and emails.

Exhausted happy, I was!

Hope your weekend is going gangbusters, too!

PS. I’m so out of practice, I forgot to lug the pic-snapper along. So you’ll have to make do with everyone elses’. Cheerio!

Chocolate linen tulip

2009-08-15T12:36:00.003+10:00

It's really gratifying when you create a new something and it turns out even better than the image in your mind's eye.

I had long been in love with this tulip skirt Jenny Gordy designed for Stitch magazine....and although I knew that my old before-bub shape would have worn it pretty well, I wasn't so sure about sticking my pear-bod into this one. My hips would never look as cute as the size 6 model on that glossy page.

Short of getting an emergency tummy-tuck, some pattern altering had to be done. And here tis. Very comfy and very wearable. In fact, I'd probably buy this off the rack if I saw it in a shop.

Medium-weight chocolate linen and buttons from Tessuti...and I pretty much followed all the instructions to the letter. Except I top-stitched the waistband and the placket seams to make them sit flat. I also sewed the pleats down 5cm from the waistband seam, to make me look less hip-py. The dark colour of the fabric definitely helps.

I might take this out for a spin in this unseasonal warm weather we're having. In the meantime, must whittle down that list below.

Tootles!

Blathering again

2009-08-10T20:04:00.003+10:00

I'm making messes in the real world, but here I insist on some order.....and some pretty.

A bunch of sweetpeas for you. A shame you can't smell their sweet perfume.

I camped out on the couch last weekend binding the quilt. There's still a long way to go.

But at least there's these cute drool-catchers. They've gone to live with a wee kitty.

Also, I'll fess up to the growing pile of unfinished projects I have. Shall I?

(1) Crochet granny blanket, woefully folded away waiting for a bit of interest

(2) Cardi for the kiddo, my first real knitting thing. Back is done, one front side halfway up

(3) Binding on the spare room quilt, only a fifth of the way through

(4) Three-quarter sleeve top, pattern traced and cut, fabric uncut. Waiting for the ordered replacement overlocker manual, due to me misplacing the old manual in the big move last year

(5) Linen tulip skirt.....oops, I finished this one! Must display on the blog window

(6) Print & assemble 60 invites for my sister's wedding. Waiting for card stock

(7) Sew flowers onto three flower girl dresses. Ack! I've got the design in my head, just need to put it down on paper

You can imagine the mess all those projects create. I dread to step into the craft room right now.....and I used to keep the half-done projects at a minimum. On the bright side, there's really six on the list. I'll put the skirt on tomorrow and throw on a coordinating outfit before I take a photo.

Hope everyone's having a good week! I'll lurk on everyone else's blogs during the next few days (I'm so behind!). For now the lids are getting droopy.

Night night!

Late to the party

2009-08-01T15:47:00.003+10:00

Yep! Everybody in the blogging world has played with this pattern. After spying it on a craft blog (can't remember which) I sent away for my own Simplicity 4589 and its been in the stash forever. Waiting for the right moment.

Last weekend whilst still plagued by the bug I got bored into actually sewing something for myself. Too sick to cook, but well enough to sew. He he he! So here you go......requisite pose.

I love this top, but I've had to throw on a cardie to keep the goosebumps at bay. Definitely one for summer....and so good at hiding the remainder of last night's dinner.

Fabric was acquired from Tessuti during an excursion early last year while I was still house-bound. So cute! Can you see the little piggies? The selvedge says its japanese.

I decided to revive my resolution to sew more of my clothes. So I made a bit of a guilty splurge at my local Tessuti in Bondi Junction (boo hoo hoo, it's closing down in two weeks!). Two cotton-silk blends, one stripey shirting weight and the owls is a cotton voile. The owls are destined for a bubble dress for the kiddo. Soon. Soon.

Now to find appropriate patterns for the other three. But first, there's a quilt waiting to be bound.

Hope your weekend is sunny!

Cheerio!

Couch sitting

2009-07-24T11:21:00.003+10:00

Long time no blog, hey peeps! The kiddo and I are bunged up with our very own bugs. She coughed into my face two days ago and now I'm down with her germs. Don't you just love sharing?! Not.

It's nearly noon and here we are slobbing on the couch...still in our jammies.

Haven't the energy to change into something decent, in case some hot, young postman/delivery guy comes ringing at the front door (oh geez, maybe I should at least pull on some jeans), but I seem game enough to take photos, post photos and blog....not to mention knit. He he he!

And here's a finished patchy cushion made from the leftovers of the zigzag couch quilt. I still have no concept of how much to cut when I make the quilts. So I usually end up with a pile of leftovers. Sometimes I make a new unplanned project out of them, but mostly they just languish in the stash.

Lastly, I thought to post a photo of the kiddo test driving the new pinafore I made a few weeks ago. She's worn it three times now since it flew off the sewing machine. She loves it and it looks great with the pale pink turtleneck.

Hokay, time to feed the kiddo methinks. Hope you're all having a good week!

Cheerio!

Catherine wheel scarf

2009-07-24T10:58:00.005+10:00

Hello peeps! I gifted away this scarf before I remembered to take the requisite photo.

I crocheted this one last year as a present for a good friend who became a new mummy. Here's my practice swatch. She sent me this pic very recently and now I'm posting it on this 'ere blog to make up for my absence and my lack of active crochet. I've put the crochet granny blanket down for the moment in favour of other quickie projects. I'll pick it up again later.

Anyhow, longer post to follow soon.

Cheerio!

Late afternoon

2009-07-05T19:29:00.002+10:00

Since going back to full-time work, I only ever get to spend sewing time on weekends while the kiddo is napping and into the late, late afternoon.

Every now and then, I get a guilty niggle when I'm sewing away and the geezer is waking her up from her nap in the next room. Should I be doing that? Of course, the niggle is forgotten after a moment 'cos I'm in the happy zone again. They didn't need me. All is well.

The blocks for another quilt are all sewed up and squared, waiting for me to lay it out.....next weekend. I love my weekends!

Hope yours was good, too!

Cheerio!

Pinafore or dress

2009-06-23T08:29:00.006+10:00

Whatever you call this linen pretty, I reckon it'll work either way. It fits the kiddo now so I'll garb her in it with a skivvy or a long sleeve top underneath.

I love this fabric....again another purchase from Leslie's now closed up shop. The pattern is from this craft book. Yes, I'm hopeless. My addiction to japanese craft pattern books isn't waning. I seem to obsess about them more now that I've less time.

And what's this we see??? Button holes? Ack! Let's take a closer look.

Yes, yes! Perfect cute tiny buttonholes.

'Cos I brought home the ultimate swag from that most recent Sydney craft show last week. I took the plunge and upscaled my sewing toy to this grown-up piece....and I'm in love. It's so smooth, so quiet and so easy to learn. The pinafore is actually the second project I've sewn on the newbie. I cracked my learner plates on a new tea towel (already in use and grotty), an easy project to warm up a new sewing machine to.

And as if that wasn't enough, I also dived off the deep end and cast on this little cardigan. The kiddo's new apricot scarf (the blocking does wonders, I'm now a believer, Claudine!) was a hit.

You can't see it, but I just spotted a dropped stitch already. Do I care? Nope.

So was that a catch-up or what?! I'm switching comments back on, 'cos I wanna hear what you all have been up to. And by the way, any takers for this pile of fabric? I've just done another clean out and I've decided these are just too subdued for me colour-wise.

Okey dokey! Back to the real world.

Cheerio!

Long weekend

2009-06-15T20:49:00.003+10:00

It would seem like I'm forever playing catch-up on this blog nowadays. But since I still love writing the blog posts, catch-up it'll have to be.

Two weekends ago was the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Us being in a commonwealth country and all, we get the benefit of the additional public holiday for a well-earned getaway to cold and windy Canberra.

The kid loved looking at the little miniature English village. But the oohing was reserved for the teeny tiny castles. I actually remembered to bring the camera this time around. So I was snapping away at every opportunity........posing in front of castles.

Waiting on orange benches with trusty new friends.

And just being a plain ole goof. (Belinda, the kiddo loves the skirt! And so do I.)

Notice all the handmade in each pic?

Ahem, someone else made the castle, but it was definitely made by hand.

Cheerio!

Laundry, what laundry?

2009-06-02T12:02:00.003+10:00

While I'm in a blogging groove here, I thought to play catch-up with my posting....since it's been a wee while. Doh! Too much busy-ness.

Anyhow, that fairytale quilt has been long-armed, bound and slept under for a while now. Here 'tis with the kiddo's bed friends.

Some progress has been made on the granny square blanket. This one's going too slowly for my liking, but perhaps I just need to accept it for the tortoise-speed project that it is. Maybe it'll be finished in time for next winter.

And guess what new craft I've learned this year?! Claudine came over a few weeks ago and taught me the knitting basics. So now I know how to cast on, cast off, do garter and do stocking stitch. Hopefully, that's enough for the moment until I can actually finish a project within days, let alone months. For someone so used to whipping a little something in no time, I'm still a tad slow.

And while we wait for the real birthday pressie to arrive, the kiddo will be tearing into this package tonight. After cake (I told the geezer to hunt for one at short notice...this one has crept up on us) and candles. Hopefully she likes it!

Now I really need to attend to the laundry.

Cheerio!

Heavenly

2009-06-02T11:56:00.003+10:00

Driving up the scary road......in a rental car.......by myself......in the darkening late afternoon.....eek! It's enough to give a girl conniptions. But the drive was so, so worth reaching the top of the mountain. It's like heaven, the crafty kind, of course. More weekend wrap-ups here and here.

And the rest of the photos courtesy of our in-house picsnapper here. With big hugs and thank you's to all these ladies who made the weekend a blast!

Hokay! Must attend to the laundry now. Cheerio!

Down the fun drain

2009-05-05T12:10:00.007+10:00

What do I do when there are more pressing matters I want to ignore? I windowshop.

I see a dream theme of high heels recurring in this wardrobe, what I'd normally call "one-hour shoes". Cos I know that's how long I'd last in them before I'm itching to slip them off.

Beautiful nonetheless! I'm wanting that ombre skirt and the tan Philip Lim jacket.....and all four pairs of heels.

Okay, I'm going back to reality. Cheerio!

Yarn attack

2009-04-28T11:14:00.004+10:00

I had one of those when I spied Louise's most recent project on-the-make. I remembered last year wanting to get on the granny square bandwagon, but I wasn't brave and was still very unskilled in the art of crochet. Nowadays I'm a bit more fearless. Don't know about the skill. Ha!

Last weekend, armed with my trusty hook I did a bit of yarn hoarding over at my local in town to make up a car/travel blanket, justifying that not one inch of it will got to waste...after all this one's going to be treasured for years to come. When it's finished.

I'm crocheting the blocks together as I go, a la this super excellent tutorial. I'm hoping it'll end up with a mishmash organic feel when it's done 'cos the layout is pretty much unplanned.

Of course, I've piled myself with another project on-the-go. Gah!......when I really should be binding the new quilt (yep, its back) for the kiddo.

Instead I'm strangely compelled to make more small "grannies".

Hope your week is good! Cheerio!

Leftovers

2009-04-22T14:18:00.003+10:00

Leftovers can sometimes be fun..... fabric scraps that is. And these two now make it seven house blocks all up. Here they are posing with some toys I borrowed from the kiddo.

I'm aiming for, ummm let's see, about twenty blocks? Or even twenty-four. At this rate, it'll take me forever to frickin sew the entire top.

Each one eats up about an hour to sew and each one is frustratingly fiddly. The roof patches are constantly confounding me each time I start a new one. That one up there took me three attempts to get the okay nod.

At this slowpoke rate, the quilt might end up gifted to the kid when she's a teenager. Or to the grandkid, good heavens!

And as slow as each one takes to make, each one of these is also infinitely satisfying to finish.

We're all a bit snotty and flu-ey around here. So, I'm going back to the couch with a hot cup of lemon tea to banish the germs and watch this fun romp of a show.

Cheerio!

Growth spurt

2009-04-15T13:40:00.003+10:00

The kid has been needing trousers lately. What with this growth spurt, she's turning into quite the weed.

I had been a neglectful mummy and ignoring the ankle view she had been showing me from the last lot of trouser sewing I did.....until I saw how shabby she looked next to her friends at child care last week. Good thing this easter long weekend shindig. I really got stuck into revving up the machines.

I even chose a new trouser pattern from this superb japanese craft book. This one has pockets and a slight boot leg.

And here's trouser number two (same pattern) being road tested this morning while we were at the park.

Both trousers were transformed from japanese fabrics from my stash. The pros of having a decent sized stash being I didn't have to step out of my craft room for this session. (Not even for some notions) I think the first one was from Reprodepot and the second is from Leslie's etsy shop.

Hope everyone's having a good week.

Cheerio!

Building houses

2009-04-15T13:32:00.004+10:00

Hey folks! Is it time for a new house block? I think so.

One with lots of autumn colours. All fabrics were taken from the scrap heap, which is begging to be tidied up.

There's another few blocks on the go, so stay tuned for those.

Cheerio!

Korshay

2009-04-04T16:34:00.008+11:00

Us crafters, don't we just love our toys? And as I was playing with this one, I couldn't help hearing that humming base tune Sully was hopping to part way through the movie.

Pom....pom....pom....pom....pom....pom

Those Clover folks have done it again! And no doubt I'm the last on the planet to have discovered this wee pom-pom gadget thingy. 'Cos it looks so cute adorning the kiddo's newest korshay (her word, not mine) scarf.

The scarf was a super-quick project......hmmm, four teevee viewing evenings? Yep, thereabouts. It's made of some pretty 8 ply cotton I picked up at my nearest Spotlight, but the pom-poms are made of leftover fuschia Zara wool from another project. 'Cos after a few goes, the cotton just wasn't making nice, ball-shaped ones.

On other news, we've been having so much rain and damp our little patch of grassy yard has turned into a field of mushrooms......Yuck! I know mushrooms are normally very twee and whimsical and cute, but our garden just looks vile. Any suggestions please?

If you have any, please email your garden fungal annihilation tips to jade(dot)ghenzer(at)gmail(dot)com. 'Cos the mushroom infestation is doing my head in. I and the geezer much appreciate it.

Cheerio!

Lazy days

2009-03-29T15:32:00.005+11:00

I'd rather sew than exercise. That's nothing new. My near-new trainers which I got two months ago to play volleyball in are sleeping in a deepening dust pile. Must jog sometime soon! Next weekend maybe?

Either way, the weekend hasn't been a loss. I plundered my inordinate hoard of fairytale japanese fabrics and finished this cute quilt top for the kiddo's toddler bed.

I originally collected these to put as trim on smocks, back in the days when I sewed baby smocks. Seems so long ago. And she really needs a bigger quilt.

I just need to get some spotty flannel for the back, then send it away to be quilted.

Now, I'll retire to that worn-in dip in the couch to weave in these ends. So maybe not so lazy, hey?

Hope your weekend is good, too. Mine's the top banana.

Cheerio!

Kiddo blather

2009-03-29T15:22:00.005+11:00

Life is so hard, I think I'll pull faces. (Cos mummy forces me to say please when I want a biscuit)

Ack! No! I'd rather you remember my natural face. What's going on there?

Strike that. I'd rather watch the bumblebee movie.

Bunnies on my mind

2009-03-24T14:53:00.003+11:00

It's coming up to easter after all. An excuse for chocolate and cute floppy eared bunnies.

I had a maddening compulsion to do something arty. So I gave in and broke out the new paintbox.

Finito! (Except it's wanting some thought bubbles, methinks)

PS. I've switched off the comments, peeps. I'm trying to get back to turning this blog into my online journal again, like in the beginning. If you're wanting to say hello, please drop me an email via my profile page.

Coming up apples

2009-03-24T11:00:00.005+11:00

Lots of apples.....in her kitchen (hello bloggy peeps!)

And on the kiddo's apron. We popped over to this market on the weekend to say hello to Belinda and Marina. I had to nab this apron and this perfect little skirt. The cheeky kid wanted to put it on the moment we got indoors.

So that was summer, hey. Dry, hot January, then wet, soggy February. Can't win them all. But as chance would have it, I had the perfect excuse to stay indoors and stitch inch-by-fricking-inch to finish the new couch quilt.

This may be the last time ever I attempt hand quilting on this scale. I'd love to hope that my hands are getting softer and supple with age (like old leather, he he he....borrowed that line from a friend, hope she doesn't mind), but the skin on my fingertips seem to be getting tougher.

Ha! Get it?! I'll be a tough old bag one day.

There are other finished projects loitering here and there. Just gotta get back into the groove of pic-snapping. 'Cos every spare minute we're lazing around in bed. Get up lazybones!

Cheerio!

Summer break

2009-01-24T14:11:00.004+11:00

Hokay! Whose idea was it to start crocheting a woolly something in the middle of stinking hot weather? Ooh yeah, that was me. Sheesh!

The stripey thing is now stalled in favour of reacquainting myself with the ole book case. The only newbie in that pile up there is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Everything else I'm reading again for the (take you pick) nth time.

As for Mr Gaiman's book, I devoured it in a day and if I were a writer, I'd wish I could tell a story like him. I *gushing* loved it! I haven't gushed about a book for a long time. This is just the sort of book I can't wait to share with the kiddo when she gets older.

Anyhow, work and real life has taken over this part of blogdom again. I could kinda see this coming from a mile off, but I was in a bit of denial. We've just been too busy being out and about, that I haven't been doing the usual housekeeping here......including replying back to your comments. Don't worry I won't be gone long, just for the rest of summer.

Keep well & as I always say.....cheerio!

The rudeness

2009-01-11T13:09:00.004+11:00

So the past week has been a rude and abrupt awakening. (The geezer should just throw a bucket of cold water at me in the morning, but lets not encourage that) Back to the blah humdrum of corporate life and I struggled. Oh, how I struggled! I’m a bit of a sleepy grump in the mornings. One caffeine hit a day isn’t enough.

But I’m persevering with keeping up the creative momentum. A row or three every night, in front of the boob tube. See here the beginnings of a stripey thing.

It’s way distracting to pass a yarn shop on the way home everyday and not venture in for a look-see. This inevitably results in me venturing in, imagining a new project in my mind to match whichever wool hank I’m petting, handing over some dosh and failing to exert will-power again. Resistance is futile!

I’m finding there is a direct relationship between my resuming the crafting and the increased lure of the craft supply shops. Using up the stash equals the need to replenish. No creativity, no stash movement equals piles gathering dust, forgetting what’s in the stash (where did I hide those buttons?) and potential for said fabric stash to be transformed into a nest for rabid spiders………….by the way, the geezer valiantly gassed and squashed five large huntsmans (vile cretins!) since we moved five months ago, even though he’s secretly a quivering mess inside when he sees them, too. Ain’t love grand? Anyhow, more incentive for me to keep up the crafting.

This weekend I swear to reply and/or comment back to everyone who’s popped in here. I’ve been abysmally poor at the replies. So rude. And although I’ve apologised before to you bloggy peeps for the poor standards here, I'm very appalled at myself for letting it get to this state. Thanks again for understanding and continuing to visit.

One more tidbit before I sign off, here’s an interesting article I came across via this great site. Cos I need to wash my mouth out every now and then. The kiddo, all innocent-like, said the f-word back to me the other day. (Mum, she only said it once, and she knows its a naughty word now) Guess who she picked it up from. Gah!

Cheerio!

Bingeing

2009-01-05T19:56:00.006+11:00

Would you believe it?! Within a week of my last visit here I finished three projects! Wot!!! Methinks it had something to do with a crafty mini bootcamp we had a few days ago. I was so feeling left out of the monthly blogmeets that I invited Belinda (with her sister Nicole) and Claudine to pop over for a day of fabric play.....and the opportunity to finish off some projects sans geezer. (I kicked the husband out for half a day)

What a great day it was! Ladies, we need another one of those please.

I finished the little scarflette above for the kiddo. It's a super quick project! Just half a ball of yarn. The pattern is from this craft book. I finished it off with a velvet ribbon for tying around the neck. The winter wardrobe collecting is starting early.

And the other fabric creation is what I ended up tacking that bunny stitchy thing to. Remember the boxing bunny? I put it on the yoke of this wee summer dress.

I added the bunny with a bit of needle-turned applique. (We're a bit old-school on the applique technique around here) And it's come up a treat! I used some natural coloured Italian linen for the yoke and the boxing bunnies dotty print fabric that I got from Leslie when she opened up her shop ages ago. That is one of the prettiest fabrics I've ever come across!

I finished the back with my favourite loop closures. The pattern actually called for a zip, but buttons are a lot sweeter for little girls' frocks.

And here's a view of the full dress. I'll get a snap of the little tike wearing it one of these days. She's gone to sleep now. The pattern is from another japanese craft book.

It's my most current favourite.......of all the bits of clothing I've made for her, this one is definitely tops.

I've pretty much used up all of that cute bunny print fabric now. Wah! If I want to make anything else out of it, I'm going to have to wait until she's outgrown the dress to cut it up. That is, of course, if I get the courage to cut it up. Maybe not.

Oh well! I always say, if you want the best results, use up the good stuff.

Cheerio!

PS. Ooooh yeah! Project number three is a quick quilt top....with sadly no photos to show. But I'll save that post for when its finished and bound.

Two weeks down

2008-12-28T16:29:00.005+11:00

One week left of my time away from work....and I finished this couch cushion! It's only been, ahem, three months since I cut up the fabric.

There's a bit of lotta fabric, something from the japanese stash and aqua linen. I threw in the stitchy rows to complement the white in the lotta print.

The back has a plain lapped zip closure, which took me several goes to get right. The secret was in the basting stitches. The lazy arse way of pinning it down just wasn't getting me anywhere except a lot of wonky ugly. But now it looks neat.....it may even look store bought. Maybe.

And just for you, Corrie, here's a photo of the kiddo looking serious...

then cheeky (and fuzzy). They're my new faves photos of her taken on Christmas day.

Now, which fabric pile should I cut up next?

Hope everyone's having a great holiday season!

Hiding in the real world

2008-12-21T13:04:00.003+11:00

Ack! Has it been almost two months already? I stoked up the inbox this morning and saw some "where and how are you's" in there. Should've really checked in briefly during the madness. Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness!

You see, bloggy peeps, as much as I love my job (and yes, the reason is that trite) November nearly killed me. Long days, late nights, doing endless revisions on endless ginormous spreadsheets to meet a deadline set by some head honcho in another country. You get the picture?

I've been crafting none and the dinners have been deplorable, too. I think the geezer and the kiddo are now sick of takeaway.

But we have been enjoying the real world the past seven days. We've just come back from a Melbourne trip. The wet and nippy conditions didn't stop us from sightseeing. We even got to check-out Louise's Tuesday digs. And I was restrained.....amid all the riot of gorgeous fabric and me, very restrained. Heh! I haven't been sewing very much lately, so that scuppered the hoarding instinct.

I've planned to stay at home for another fortnight before heading back to the melee that is my work. And I foresee lots of catching up between me and my sewing machine. And lots more blogging than in the last few weeks. And perhaps whittle down the thousands (Ack! Ack!) in my bloglines. And maybe, just maybe, some finished projects to show. Cos the pile of unfinished projects is the new bane of my craft existence.

Must not let work take over the better stuff of life again!

PS. Thank you, Claudine, for your gift. The place mats are very well loved!

Finally some sun

2008-10-25T18:05:00.002+11:00

Just when I thought we were headed for some summer heat, the temps dived down and sent me running towards my coats which I fortunately still haven't boxed. That was three days ago. Blah!

But the skies have cleared up and here we are beaching.......and watching the watercraft. The harbour's quite busy when a breeze is blowing. The sailboats are out in fleets.

The kid had her first ride on a ferry this morning. She couldn't stop giggling and sticking her face in the breeze. Methinks we'll be doing more ferry trips this summer.

Also, I've been persevering. There's actually a few unfinished projects milling around. This stitchy thing is one of them. Not an original design, nope. I copied the bunny from a fabric print which I'll be tacking this onto soon.

As soon as I stop procrastinating which pattern to use for a summer frock. The frock is for the kiddo. I've been seeing a lot of cute dresses in the shops, but everytime I look at the tag, I think to myself I can make this. But of course, finding time is another matter. Gah!

Good thing the aussie dollar is so tragic at the moment, I'm actually saving some dosh. Or is it a bad thing? I think I just bought my last etsy purchase this morning but not before I figured out it would've been cheaper to get it local. Just as well my local doesn't stock it. I should be using up my stash anyway. The geezer keeps eyeing it up. I secretly suspect he wants to flog it on ebay.

Anyway, enough whingeing. Time to start enjoying the sun.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend! Cheerio!

Wall of revolving arty

2008-10-08T20:46:00.002+11:00

Am I really in blog denial? I'm secretly hoping the blog would scribe itself and I'll just think the words out loud. Apologies, bloggy peeps, for dropping out like that. But unfortunately, it will have to be that way.......as we're wayyyy busy right now. I'm so missing five months ago, when the most exciting thing I had on the boil was the next Sex & the City re-run.

But remember my dilemma? Well, its kinda sorta sorted. And apparently I'm practicing minimalism nowadays. Who knew I had it in me? That's what happens when you do a pretty major clean-up and ours was a super gigantic toss-out.

I realised after looking at all the pretty pictures that I needed some three dimensional stuff thrown in as well, just to mix it up. Ikea came to the rescue again with these shelves. And ta da! Here's what I managed to cobble together on our dining room wall.

Bonus is I get to swap out the decor when the mood takes me. And because I have to throw a kiddo pic as well, here's the little tearaway posing in the corner.

Hope everyone's having a great week! By the way, 10 weeks to the big C. Eeek!!!

Sprung

2008-09-20T15:02:00.009+10:00

Geez! Has it been two weeks already since I was here last? Argh!

I've been kinda run off my feet. Work has been nuts, as we're down one person and I'm covering for them, too. Don't know why. I'm still a newbie, but I just got lumped with it. Maybe I'm too nice? Yep, too nice. Specially as I had to soldier on through a bug that was being passed around. I'd forgotten about offices being rampant places of germ-y infestation. Double argh!

But the weekend always puts a better gloss on my ole outlook. And what about this warm sunny day, hey! Ordered it just for you. Spring has definitely sprung.

Anyhow, we did another Ikea dash this morning.....the third since we moved (the place drives the geezer nuts), and this time it's wall adornments. I've been slowly building up a haul of etsy finds (nope this isn't all of it) and auditioning the ones best for the walls.

So far layout seems the biggest dilemma. This wall decor thingy that I see on those design blogs....not so easy as it looks. Schtumped, I am. Anyone have any suggestions? Or maybe you can come over and help hang the dang things.

And you know its nice and windy when the sail boats come out on the harbour.

Mum, this is for you. Hope it convinces you to drive across the bridge to our end of town.

We lucky ducks have this view from our upstairs balcony.

By the way, before I forget the kiddo picked Helen to receive The Creative Family and Allison to get Machine Made Patchworks. Woohoo! So send me your address ladies and I'll parcel up a swag bag each for you.

Hope the rest of your weekend is great! Cheerio!

Settled

2008-09-07T17:32:00.002+10:00

Hey everyone! We're now on the other side of the harbour.

The ordeal is all but finished. We're almost unpacked and the internet is actually working most of the time. Please let me explain. The layout of this place is odd in spots. The phone jack is nowhere near the rational place the computer table should be...it is there, but I've had to install a wireless network. With my limited tech-y knowledge (the geezer has even less), that's kinda dangerous. So it's been in and out the past week, with much fist thumping and mealy mouthing. Gah!

More importantly, the fabrics are neatly piled and the singers are ready for revving. But before I babble on further.....lookee, lookee. A finished couch quilt!

I took this quilt with me to the past Stitches & Craft Show to demo sewing the binding. And what a bloggy love-in it was! I got to meet Kristen, Fiona and Justine....all ladies I had blog crushes on. I had already met both Cathy and Louise the night before over dinner with Belinda, when we talked like there was no tomorrow over pasta and gelato. It was a riot. Seriously, girls, that dinner's gonna be hard to top!

Anyhow, apologies for the poor photos. It's been pouring buckets the past few days and I took the first chance of clear skies (and better light) to take these snaps. But you get the drift. I love that quilt, but I may have to make a bigger one for the big couch, since the armchair looks so cute wearing it.

Also, with the move I've bit the bullet and decided to destash. It's tragic when you unpack your stuff and not only do you have too much fabric, but you've bought double copies of some books. Yep, can you even think of doing something so idiotic? *blush*

So, I'm making two mail-away packages, one with The Creative Family (and some fabric) and another of Machine Made Patchworks 1 (and some fabric).

If you'd like to receive one of these packs, just leave a comment. I'll get the kiddo to pick a name from a bowl next weekend.

Hokay! The geezer's tummy is starting to rumble. I gotta start watering and feeding these two.

Cheerio!

Hey you

2008-08-27T21:32:00.004+10:00

I'm delurking, folks!

Been playing with some Mac toys, since the camera's gone MIA in one of these tenzillion boxes. Apologies, peeps. You'll have to do with the second rate one above. Yep, it's late. I'm bleary-eyed and I've got no war paint.

There has been crafting, but no photos. And there's so much to blog about, my brain is just fluffy right now. Fact is, we're still not finished with the neverending packing. Blimey! How much junk can two-and-a-half people collect?!

Just signing off for a few days.....or weeks. It's pot luck when I'll be back online again. But I know you're crossing your fingers I'll be back very soon, unless my internet coordinating skills have gone rusty.

The big move across the harbour is in two days. And I can't wait till its all done and dusted (then I can do my usual vegatating again). Wish us luck! See you all on the other side.

Sewing some, crochet none

2008-08-16T12:18:00.003+10:00

I cranked it up and I let it rip.....the sewing machine, that is. I've put away the crochet hooks, although I'm always itching for them now. My fingers wanna fiddle with something. Guess if I took up smoking, it'll be a ciggie. But since I haven't tripped up to my regular yarn shop, sewing it will have to be.

And lookee, lookee! This has already been gifted, although I haven't heard from the recipient yet. Hope she received it. I've had some books ordered from online go missing in the mail recently. My suspicions are someone has filched it. Fortunately the online shop sent me a replacement copy.

Anyhow, this project is all wool and some Katie Jump Rope, with some embroidery thrown in for good measure.

And this apron ('cos I couldn't stop at just one project) is for me. Or rather, it's for the new kitchen on the other side of town we'll be moving to in a fortnight.

Some japanese linen printed with chooks and crochet lace. No pattern. Just followed my instincts, which seems to be the way I work nowadays.

The linen is so minimalist in design, it's really hard to capture in a photo.

Also, you may have heard already, even though I've been keeping quiet about it.....I'll be at the Living Creatively stand next week at this craft show. I'm feeling a bit intimidated, since everyone else are old hands at this sort of thing. Yikes! Anyhow, if you happen to be chancing by, come over and say hello. I'll be the one giggly from the bubbly, which I'll be downing beforehand to calm my nerves.

Okeydokes! I must get back to some more packing.

Cheerio!

This green thing

2008-08-09T12:29:00.002+10:00

Sometimes the winter light just doesn't wanna play nice. You get this sort of photo on one side of the room.

Then fricking too much light on this side. Anyhow, I love the bobbly texture of this new yarn-y thing. Except the bobbles are actually on the wrong side. Who cares? I'm wearing them on the outside. The yarn is Zara in the kelly green.

The pattern (again from one of my fave japanese craft books) looks like this on the right side. Still interesting, no? Anyhow, it's curling on the sides. Maybe because I haven't blocked it yet. Naughty, naughty!

And let me explain about the blog neglect......we've got a huge pile of stuff on. It never just rains round our parts. I'm actually remembering my cleaning skills every week, while we have our place open to prospective tenants. I'm getting quicker mind you.

We've also been doing the townhouse reno, which happens to be on the other side of the harbour. Every week is a new item to decide on. This shade or that one, this bench top or that speckled one, this floor finish or this one? It's never ending. And to top it all, I've started boxing the craft room. And I'm embarrassed, crafty peeps, to admit to how many boxes of fabric I've already carted over there and yet, it appears I still have more than half leftover waiting. Ack!

So from next week, I'm abstaining from more fabric purchases until I've answered the storage question in the new craft room. But maybe I'll get around it by replenishing the yarn stash (only one small plastic crate!) with some more green woollies. And sate the fabric craving, maybe.

Hokay! I'm off to crank up the sewing machine. It too has been suffering from neglect.

Cheerio!

Winging

2008-07-26T15:01:00.004+10:00

Whoop, whoop, whoop! Another yarn-y thing finished and as of this moment, winging its way in the post to the giftee.

I do believe I've got this crochet scarf pattern down pat now. In fact, I need to confess that I actually finished this one last weekend. It was just too dark to photograph and I was too knackered to get my arse off the couch.

And thanks for understanding my angst over the comment-slash-email thing. Craft bloggy peeps are the best!

One more thing, you'd think that with time being a premium around here, I'd spend every precious spare minute crafting. But nooooo! It would seem I can't shake off the terrible habit of clicking that dang mouse whenever I see a nice bit of fabric. Ack! The piles are out of control again. The geezer is threatening to flog them all on ebay. And I'm meant to be boxing them all up. Anyhow, I may need to throw them (the geezer and the kiddo) out of the flat for a whole afternoon one weekend so that I can get to some sewing......my last weeks of sewing before we up and move the whole lot across to the other side of the harbour.

Anyhow, I gotta get on with the next wip.

Cheerio!

Couch quilt top

2008-07-13T12:34:00.004+10:00

I sometimes don't know where I get my extra energy from, but obviously there were some in reserve on Friday night. You'd think after a long week of work, I'd be in my usual spot on the couch just vegetating (like a potato). But no, I could spot the light at the end of the tunnel with this quilt top.

Finished patching all the rows together last night and it's done! I can't quite believe it myself. Yep, I had to prove to myself that I can finish whopping big projects even when crafting time is scant. Though, technically, this isn't finished by a long shot. I'm just sending it off for someone else to help finish it for me.

Anyhow, it's not that huge a quilt.....about 50 inches square. The winter light is poor for photo-taking, but that's white linen I've combined with the ginger blossom there. There's a bit of liberty and some other prints. The fat quarter stack I got didn't end up with the variety of colours or prints I was after, so I had to comb the stash.

As you can guess, like many other blogger crafters, I was inspired by this quilt. I just opted for the rows to be a lot closer and I had to mix up the colour scheme, with the ascending diagonal in pink hues, while the descending diagonal are in greens.

So, bloggy peeps, I hope you're having a productive weekend, too. I'm going to tackle one of the other wips.

Cheerio!

PS. Here's the deal on the emails. I can't seem to get on top of them anymore. Ack! If you leave me a comment, I'll leave a comment on your blog next time I visit. Okeydokes?! Fair is fair, and as always I thank you for your lovely and generous comments.

Update: Cos I'm anal I dragged the geezer into the freezing cold just so I could get better photos. If you're wondering what I'm on about up there.

In point

2008-07-05T13:37:00.003+10:00

I'm so seriously behind on my blogging duties. I hope all you peeps excuse my extreme tardiness in the email replying department. Fortunately for me, craft bloggers are so much more understanding than your usual "joe blow" on the street.

So what's been happening?

I started another project. After all, what's another unfinished crafty thingy to do on my already cramped work table? That makes it two quilts, one woolly something, and another one of these......hmmm, four in the pile and counting. Maybe I'll start another one to make a nice lot of five.

I forgot to mention that I serendipitously ran into Kellie a few weeks ago at the craft show. We had been playing a bit of email tag, trying to organise a meet-up and lo, I called out her name when I recognised her face above some fabric piles at the Amitie stall. Such a lovely, talented girl....and she is even more delightful in person, than I expected.

I still love my new job, although after four weeks I don't feel like the newbie anymore. And we've slotted nicely into routine. I'm even feeling energised in the evenings again. On the downside, we have even less time for house work, blech! Not that our place was ever immaculate.

I missed yesterday's blogmeet....boo hoo hoo. Another downside to working full-time. I may need to organise some random days off here and there, perhaps a first Friday of the month sometime in the next few months.

Another upside, I discovered a colleague who knits somewhat obsessively. We've started our collective yarn fingering, her knitting, my crochet, on the half hour bus ride to work. I joked that we must look odd to the other serious suits on the bus. But then, they're all too busy catching up on sleep (its before 8am) to care. Practicing for my retirement, you know.

We're eagerly awaiting the reno completion on a townhouse we're doing up on the other side of town. The fricking kitchen guy is the slowest slowpoke ever. He does a really flawless job (we've used him before for some cabinets) and he's cheap, but he's the tortoise of cabinet makers. Ack! Anyhow, now that the end is in sight we need to start the necessary, but unsavoury task of packing. I can't quite believe the amount of stuff and junk we've collected. A big clean-out is in order, I think.

Okeydokes! I must get back to my weekend and try finish one of these wips somehow.

Hope you all have good weekend!

The best intentions

2008-06-21T13:36:00.004+10:00

There's been a lot of those. Like I've been meaning to write a post last weekend, which of course, didn't happen.

And snap some photos. Again zilch.

And I've been meaning to sew after work at night. In fact I'm only a third of the way into collecting the blocks for this couch-quilt-to-be. Arghh! I wanted to be piecing the top by now.

I also have been meaning to read a story to the kiddo every night. Natch.

Not to mention, to have completed this project by the blog meet a few evenings ago. Gah! It has been promised.

You peeps get the drift? The longer days and early starts (I'm talking crack-of-dawn here) are leaving me in a heap at the end of the day. I don't seem to have any energy left except for vegging out on the couch. One of these days I'll discover the secret of the "working mum".

But I do love working and being around adult conversation again. The kiddo is doing better with the drop-offs. And now I'm making good with my blog and you crafty peeps. I missed you all.

And I love my new scarf, courtesy of Bianca. Thank you! It goes so well with my favourite carpet skirt.

Cheerio!

Giveaway disclaimer

2008-06-09T10:12:00.006+10:00

Hokay! I'm not sure any of you bloggy peeps read the little addendum I put on the last post about that fabric I'm giving away. So I'm repeating it here just so its clear. I don't want to lead you folk into thinking you're getting a perfect piece of fabric-ness....and have one of you get shirty with me for an imagined blindsiding.

Here's the added wordy bit to the last post. Please read carefully.

Edit: About the fabric, there's been so much interest that I feel the need to explain what I'm not happy about it. There's a very slight colour bleed on the print where the pears are. It's not very noticeable in the photo, but if you look closely you'll notice the pears have blurry edges. And no, it's not a blurry photo. That's where the colour bleed is....on all the pears. I only know that the fabric was less than perfect because I have it in another colourway, which is fault-free. Disappointed I was when I got this. So if you're still interested, I'll give it away to the first person that emails me at jade(dot)ghenzer(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot)au. No draw, just email me. **** The fabric is taken, thanks! Melinda, it's yours. ****

Clear as mud?!

Oh yeah! I'm only giving away the fabric (plus some fun goodies), not the bub. I was just browsing through some old photos of her this morning and since she turned two last week, the geezer and I have been floored by how much she's changed. These are photos of her at two-and-a-half months.

Cheerio!

Patchy

2008-06-07T20:51:00.003+10:00

All this clothes sewing is making me want to shift gears again. Although there's still a lot of little girly get-ups in the works for the next wee while.

I get distracted too easily. Hence the fabric triangles on my table. Some ginger blossom and a bit of el cheapo white linen from the stash, which I picked up last year. This lot has already been sewn into squares for a test view. It's passed....woohoo! I'm cutting some more right this minute. This, if it works out, will be the new couch quilt.

I'm still hurrying in as much crafting before I start work. On Tuesday. Ack! So many things to do in three......no, two days.

It's been a great weekend so far. I popped into my hairdresser today to tame the mop into something a "corporate gal" (I've been calling myself a slob for the last two years) wouldn't be ashamed to swan around in. Somehow my feet dragged me over to Tessuti instead of the car afterwards. I had been dying to see and feel their latest fabric rolls. And I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I managed to walk away with some japanese textured cotton (no fabric porn today, sorry), but not before I had a lovely chat with Colette about japanese craft books and blogging. I'll say it now and no doubt I'll say it again, craft bloggers are super nice!

Lastly, before I get back to my trusty roll-cutter, would anyone want to relieve me of this fabric? I purchased it online sometime back, but it didn't quite look the way I expected. It's a japanese linen blend and there's about half a yard there. If there's enough people interested, I'll do a draw.

Just to make it more interesting, I'll add some pretty fabric scraps to give away with the apples and pears. I need to clean out my overflowing scrap box before it creeps into the living room.

Geez, this post is jumpy all over the place! Was that enough free-associating for you? I warned you this was a patchy post.

Cheerio!

Edit: About the fabric, there's been so much interest that I feel the need to explain what I'm not happy about it. There's a very slight colour bleed on the print where the pears are. It's not very noticeable in the photo, but if you look closely you'll notice the pears have blurry edges. And no, it's not a blurry photo. That's where the colour bleed is....on all the pears. I only know that the fabric was less than perfect because I have it in another colourway, which is fault-free. Disappointed I was when I got this. So if you're still interested, I'll give it away to the first person that emails me at jade(dot)ghenzer(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot)au.

Birdy dress with pears

2008-05-31T14:04:00.003+10:00

This is what I'm calling this new smock-y thing fresh off the ironing board.....that uncut project I mentioned in the last post. Now that my focus is back on the sewing, everything gets finished quick smart!

Here's an extreme closeup, so you can peek at the fabric I had to sacrifice for this garment. Cute rows of pears and birds, in a soft baby wale cord. Tee hee hee! The fabric is from Leslie's shop and if you ask her nicely, she might still have some left. Maybe.

I always hesitate cutting into beautiful fabric, but hey, that kind of thinking won't get anything finished around here. And let's not forget, the stash is king. Use up some fabric (in a friendly, environmentally responsible way), make room for more.

And here's the kiddo sporting her new duds with her "teletubby". She refused to put it down even for the photo.

That would be the red stuffed alien in her hands......not the geezer.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend! Cheerio!

PS.........pattern for the birdy smocky dress is from this craft book.

Mustering the crafting

2008-05-30T09:18:00.004+10:00

I managed to kick-start the dormant projects around here the other day. There's a heap of patterns and fabric littered everywhere. And even with all that busy bee-ness (it felt like I was doing heaps!) I only managed one house block to go with the others. Dang!

It'll be interesting to see the complete quilt top once all the blocks are finished. There's a lot of scraps I'm seeing from the different bibs, smocks and garments I've made for the kiddo, as well as other little people.

By the way, I'm just auditioning thread colours up there. I'm wanting to hand quilt this lot, but don't hold me to it in case I'm strapped for time.

Anyhow, today's project is another winter smock-y garment for the kiddo. The patterns have been traced and cut. The fabric has been washed and pressed. Just blogging the time away while she's mesmerised by Play School. I'm waiting eagerly for the nap time to start. Show-and-tell will happen on the weekend if I get lucky.

Now whilst I've been busy sewing up half of the kiddo's winter wardrobe, I had neglected to update mine for starting work. The last time I was in an office I was wearing maternity clothes and prior to my preggo state, everything I owned was a size 6-8. Yikes! Most of it is fit to go into the nearest Vinnies bin, I think. So I'm tripping into town tomorrow to get some basics which I can do some mixing with the remaining five items (how? how? how?) in the wardrobe that still fit.....just until the first payday. He he he!

Hope you all have great weekends planned! I'll be scooting over to yours to catch-up on some needed blog-reading.

Cheerio!

Disorganised

2008-05-26T15:07:00.003+10:00

Both crafting and blogging, that is. I do have a finished yarn-y something, which I left in the car....which is with the geezer....which I don't have a photo of. So we'll just have to make do with this mess of a craft table. That would be the cutting mat underneath all of that paraphernalia.

Anyhow, Sue tagged me to do a fun movie meme and being one half of a cinephile partnership (the geezer and I watch an inordinate amount of movies), it was quite the challenge poring through the annals of what I'd seen.

1. One movie that made you laugh - The Valet - this one is hilarious, french comedy at its best

2. One movie that made you cry - PS I Love You - with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler….a real weepy. I went through half a box of tissues. (I’ll add Pan’s Labyrinth to this, too)

3. One movie that you loved as a child - The Sound of Music. I was quite upset when I found out from my mum that we were going to see this. I had thought it was a grown up movie. But I enjoyed it so much I’ve liked it ever since.

4. One movie you've seen more than once - Cinema Paradiso - this movie is just so beautiful!

5. One movie you loved, but were embarrased to admit it - 10 Things I Hate About You - with Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. I went through a phase of liking teeny bopper movies whilst in my twenties…..late twenties. Denial, you know.

6. One movie you hated - the Hollywood version of L’Ultimo Bacio (The Last Kiss), with Zach Braff. Ugh! They really destroyed that one. The original Italian version was excellent!

7. One movie that scared you - American History X - Edward Norton was very chilling in that skinhead character

8. One movie that bored you - Russian Ark……I know that its supposed to be amazing for having been shot in one continuous take, but it was soooo boring.

9. One movie that made you happy - Love Me If You Dare, another french movie with a then little known Marion Cottillard

10. One movie that made you miserable - The Lives of Others - german movie about the life in East Berlin under the watchful eyes of the Stasi secret police. Excellent movie, but very depressing.

11. One movie that you weren’t brave enough to see - No Country for Old Men - I was set to watch it on the couch with the geezer, but I couldn’t even last the first 15 minutes. I'm not cut out for violence.

12. One movie character you've fallen in love with - That lone guy played by Hugh Dancy in The Jane Austen Book Club and Gerard Butler’s character in PS I Love You.

13. The last movie you saw - My Best Friend, yet another French movie with Daniel Auteuil

14. The next movie you hope to see - The Sex & the City movie and probably Dark Knight

Hmm, we watch a lot of foreign films, don't we? I'm not going to tag anyone, but do let me know if you want to play along in the comments. I'm always looking for new and interesting movies to watch.

Also, one more piece of news......I've got a job! Woohoo! I'm so excited to be starting full-time work again. I'm going to try a squeeze in as much sewing and crafting possible for the next few weeks. The housework can wait until I the week I start work. He he he! Kidding! I don't like living in a pigsty, either. But I'll try to get away with the bare minimum.

Cheerio!

Legs have sprouted

2008-05-21T15:54:00.002+10:00

I do believe I'm back! I missed you all heaps......but that busy-ness I spoke about. Well, it's now grown some legs. Translated from gibberish, I had been running Project Getajob during nap times these past few weeks. Cos' as much as I adore being around the kiddo all day long, I'm feeling the need to hold some occasional intelligent conversation and try to resurrect my career from whatever pit it sank to. And some of you will know about the skyrocketing cost of living here in Sydney-town. The extra dosh will definitely get me that much closer to adding some more Liberty fabric into the stash. (must get some of that kingly cord....not to mention more yarn)

I'm actually looking forward to being groomed and snappily dressed again. First, I'll need some practice.

For now I've allowed myself to chill and craft while I play the waiting game for the (hopefully good) news. Just a few more days.

Meanwhile, I've been making practice crochet swatches and another pair of trousers for the kiddo. (she's sprouting too!) In fact, I'm quite please with this pair. Cos' lookee, lookee!

Beautiful piped side seams! I finally conquered the piping.....woohoo!

And that duck egg Amy Butler fabric is proving very versatile. This one's matched with a japanese twill novelty print.

Thank you also for your lovely comments about the crocheted scarves from my last post. Apologies! I've become somewhat apathetic about responding, but now you know why. My mind was definitely somewhere else. I'll try to get back to everyone this evening.

Cheerio!

Breakus Interruptus

2008-05-11T16:51:00.003+10:00

I know, I know! The lure this afternoon was just too great. A bit of blog surfing (which I originally alloted myself half-an-hour) has resulted in a whole nap time session and this post. Ack!

Fortunately, I actually had a few crafty things to write about. I had been stalking this pattern on Etsy for a few months, before I finally took the plunge a fortnight ago. And my goodness! It's the most ladylike scarf I've ever seen....or made. This is my practice version in Sublime worsted weight blend of cashmere, merino and silk. I made it longer than the pattern wanted, cos I like it nice and dangly. This one's in vintage red, which I'll be keeping.

But for my mum's Mother's Day package I hooked it up in the mulberry. The true colour is more like a dusky pink. So pretty!

And yes, she loves it! In fact it matches her outfit perfectly when we picked her up for a lunch outing today.

One more thingy, I promised you peeps a photo of the wee one sporting that patchwork smock I made two months ago. I decked her out in it for a party last weekend. Here's the cutie posing with the mostly-eaten bribe. Yes, I do that, too.

Too all you mums and grandmums....hope you're having a nice Mother's Day!

Cheerio! (I'm going back to the bloggus breakus)

I'm so dizzy

2008-05-02T15:53:00.005+10:00

And I can be at times, I even surprise myself. After all, I am "dizzyjadey".....which if you must ask happens to be the sizzling porn name we came up with back in the day, when I was testing with hotmail addresses. A lifetime ago, when I used to work. Yep, the name stuck. And by default the inclination, too. He he he!

We're in the middle of some serious upheaval at the moment. Nothing drastic, but lots of busy-ness to attend to. My head was spinning that I almost forgot about today's blogmeet! Ack!

At the eleventh hour last night, I strapped myself to the craft table and made an image in my brain into 3D. Et voila! One cute pincushion made of wool flannel and japanese linen. Funny how the creativity just flows when you will yourself to finish whimsical somethings in under an hour. This one went to live here. I'm so happy its found a good home.

Anyhow, bloggy peeps, methinks I'll take a wee blog break. Just so I can focus on the other real-world concerns we have pressing. Whaddayathink? One week or two? I'll play it by ear. But I won't be far....I'll still be blog-surfing and reading, if not commenting.

See, I've been spinning so much I'm seeing stars! Pretty patchwork stars. (Scored by me from today's lucky dip. Thanks so much, Corrie!)

Cheerio, peeps!

The mood is grey

2008-04-27T13:57:00.004+10:00

Not grim, just grey. It's been showering buckets non-stop for the last two weeks. And my mood has leached out onto the blog. Apologies, peeps. Never in my life before have I let the weather affect my disposition, but it appears I reached some kind of "saturation" point.

Anyhow, thank you for your concern.....because some of you have been so nice to ask. I lifted myself out of the doldrums with some cute sewing for the wee one. This one just happened to be grey, too. A beautiful light grey wool flannel, to be exact. Aussie peeps, I sourced the fabric (and buttons) from Tessuti.

The pattern (garment "w") is from this japanese craft book. Again, with lots of additions....I had to lengthen it past the kid's hips, added the crochet lace trim and of course, inserted the lining. This winter jacket is fully lined to the sleeve cuffs.

I know! Very ambitious of me. (I love these buttons!) You probably know by now, I'm always up for a jump in the deep end. Cos I get bored with repetition. And I'm always wanting to prove to myself that I can do the scary, difficult kind of sewing, too. Of course, this kind of "throwing caution to the winds" stitching action does come with the occasional blunder.

This one's boo-boo is not too obvious. In all my caution at cutting generous seam allowances, its ended up a size too big. She's swimming in it. But I'm hoping it will fit before the end of winter.....and if she grows slowly, it might even get a wear next year. Yippee!

Okeydokes! The sun finally made an appearance this weekend, so we're taking full advantage of the nicer weather.

Cheerio!

Jewel fluffs

2008-04-21T15:09:00.003+10:00

It's all over the sewing table, the floor and the ironing board. Gah! The fricking fabric frays (say that out loud ten times, he he he) like there's no tomorrow. Who would've thought I'd be attempting to sew with swishy fabric this soon....and polyester, no less. But then again, who among you would even try to pull away from this pile? No, Jim. Not as we know it.

That's right. Polyester comes in woven jacquards, except I've never seen their ilk in fabric shops. Just on finished garments. This lot was unearthed from my mum's stash to add some zing into some sewing.

I'm cutting my teeth into some meaty sewing. This isn't my usual whip-it-up-in-no-time project. Hence, the absence from blog-land. I reckon I've got another week of daytime naps to finish this one. Here's a sneak peek.

Hope your week is good. Cheerio!

A matter of time

2008-04-12T12:50:00.004+10:00

You know, bloggy peeps, its only a matter of time before I start putting all the pieces together. After all, why would I want to keep them apart?!

When in reality, they're all clamoring to play together.

Just practicing with the crochet edging, but next time I'll try that nice shiny mercerised cotton.

I do like the old-fashiony look of this cotton yarn I picked up (reminds me of crochet lace, my favourite embellishment).....and ta da! One light blue linen tea towel with tree stamps and a crochet edge.

Although, even the geezer says who would want to make this tea towel grubby? Maybe it'll just be for show when guests come over (and sticky-beak in the kitchen).

Anyhow, here's another finished yarn-y thing, the floppy blue version of this beret. I can't help it anymore. This kid's a goof!

Hope everyone's having a great weekend! I still have another tea towel to finish off.

Cheerio!

Strike a pose

2008-04-05T19:56:00.005+11:00

I told her to pose.....and she obliged. She's showing off the beautiful new cardigan we got from my swap with Claudine. Actually when I pointed the pic snapper her way, she started doing a jig of sorts. This is the kiddo mid-jig. (Claudine, that's just some spilled water on the front)

I'm seriously gushing over the perfect workmanship on this piece. Everything from the yarn colour, the pattern, the fit and the tiny flower shell buttons. It is impeccably made, and so much better than anything store-bought.

We had a gorgeous sunny day out yesterday to meet up with some old and some new crafty gals. It's so nice to meet other crafty types who get the blog-thing. We're still a seldomly seen breed here in Sydney town.

Changing topics to that lamentable linen couch quilt.......I promised my gal pal Laura an artwork which she can use for a good cause some months back. When she offered to take the quilt instead of the painting, I was elated and relieved (cos I hadn't started yet and she's doing the event in a month). I lost my dad to a long battle with cancer some years ago, so this cause touches a chord with me.

Anyhow, Laura is requesting donations of scarves or beanies which she'll then use to raise money for the Cancer Council. You can read more about it here or here. If you do feel up to speed-knitting or speed-crocheting either a scarf or a beanie to donate for this cause, drop her a line at laura(dot)boere(at)tpg(dot)com(dot)au. Or you can just surf over to her blog and say hello. She's still kinda new to this blogging thing.

Cheerio!

Accidental couch quilt

2008-04-02T14:45:00.004+11:00

I went into the kiddo's room the other day and noticed that she was getting bigger. So much that the cot quilt I made her (my first quilt!) was getting far too small to tuck down the sides. Cue new project!

It needed to be a quick, almost lazy quilt project. I had a pack of charm squares lying about the craft table....didn't really want to spend too much time cutting fabric, since its cooling down fast in the evening nowadays. The charm squares are from the Wee Play range of American Jane.

For the backing, I used fabric from Look and Learn. And the binding is the last of the red ruler fabric from Building Blocks. Amazing how they all look good together.

But my undoing is the use of the linen. Argh! See what I mean??? It kinda "adultifies" the quilt. And it didn't really gel with the colour scheme in her room.

So this quilt is going to live on the couch for now, until we move house later this year. Then it can live with me in the craft room. In the mean time, the kiddo still needs a new quilt. *big sigh*

Lesson to me - don't hurry the projects! Fortunately, this wasn't too much of a dud. I kinda like the meshing of the linen with the other prints. I would hate to take this to the vinnies bin.

Anyhow back to the drawing board I go....cheerio!

On a roll

2008-03-29T14:19:00.004+11:00

I had a hankering to make some kid's clothes and boy, did I feed that urge! Of course, this was already cut up in pieces on the craft table. I had been procrastinating early in the week. It's an A-line linen smock for a little girl who lives here.

Her mummy and I are doing some side-swapping......to which I had to kick my proverbial arse in motion after I snuck a peek of the bub's cardi-to-be on her blog (I'm super excited about this swap!). Here's the back with the loop closure.

The geezer had a friday night out with the boys, which is the perfect opportunity for some inane teevee to go with lots of hand-sewing.

I love this vintage button! And I'm so happy its going to get a new lease on its life.

And of course, along with the red linen, some cute japanese red riding hood fabric with polka dots. I love this fabric, too. Good thing there's still half a metre left in the stash.

Thanks so much, bloggy peeps, for the owl zipper pouch love! I'll round off replying to the rest of the emails tonight. We're off to another kid's birthday party (whatever happened to cocktail parties?!) for the rest of the afternoon.

Cheerio!....and hope the rest of your weekend is great.

Succumbing to the owls

2008-03-28T13:04:00.004+11:00

They're everywhere in the craft blogosphere! And before I knew it I was doodling and stitching this hooter.

Nope, not quite my usual colours........or my usual embroidery style for than matter. I've decided to branch out and play. Linen, quilting cotton and multi-colourpop checks on the front.

Big checks on the back in a lovely home dec cotton. I tend to grab whichever fabric is top of the pile, but for this project I actually dived into the box bottoms searching for old familiars.

I discovered another large-ish piece of this Amy Butler "seed" fabric swimming around in the piles. Kind of nice to know I had the foresight to hoard it.

Well, I got that out of my system now. What next? I'd show you a view of my craft table and the mountain of projects waiting in the wings, but its looking much too disastrous, its embarrassing. I think I'll attack another unfinished wip. I'm so itching to make some more children's clothes.

Until next time........cheerio!

Sewing tips - elastic hems

2008-03-25T15:47:00.005+11:00

As promised, bloggy peeps! Finally some decent photos to go with my rambling. This month's tips are on elastics and elastic hems to be exact. By elastic hems, I'm referring to waists, cuffs and the necklines on the ubiquitous peasant-style tops.

First of all, you'll find various kinds of elastics in the haberdashery section of your local fabric shop. If your favourite fabric shop is also a garment fabric shop, then I can guarantee they'll have have an even bigger selection than what I've got on hand here.

Elastics come in different widths, with wider types I'd recommend for waists bands while the narrower kinds are more suited to sleeve cuffs, peasant-style neck lines and shoulder edges. The narrowest one I'm showing you (closest to the spool) I've heard referred to as hat elastic and can also be used in sleeve cuffs. The spool is shirring elastic. There's an excellent how-to on the use of shirring elastic at house on hill road via her summer dress tutorial.

But for this post, I'm going back to basics....how I make a casing and insert the elastic in the casing. From observation of various books, this seems to be one of the bits of sewing lore that a lot of books and patterns take as assumed knowledge. So, here we go.

If this was a pair of trousers, mark the elastic width on the fabric before sewing the side seam (either one, since there's two side seams in a pair of trousers). Make sure you leave enough room for the double folding of the casing.

Stitch your side seam, taking care to leave a gap where you've put the marks. This is the gap where you'll be inserting the elastic.

Open the seam and iron flat. Where I've got the chopstick into the stitched seam is the hole you'll be using to insert the elastic.

Fold the edge towards the wrong side twice and press. Make sure that the elastic insertion point is square in the middle of the fold.

Pin and stitch......and voila, you've got your casing.

Next attach a safety pin to one end of your elastic, like so. Make sure your safety pin is the kind that doesn't undo itself easily, otherwise you're stuffed!

Insert the pin into the casing via the stitch hole you've created and gripping the pin head, thread it through the entire casing.

Until you get to the other end. Be careful not to twist the elastic while threading.

Take off the safety pin and sew the overlapped the ends. I always use the "crossed box" pattern to ensure the stitches don't undo themselves whilst they're in wear. You can hand-sew or machine-sew this part.

Push the sewn ends back into the casing.

Turn over and admire your handiwork.

See! Easy peasy! Hope that was clear as mud to you all.....and if you have any questions, just shoot them in the comments. I'll post questions and answers as an edit to all "sewing tips" posts, so that everyone can share in the info.

Okeydokes! Back to more sewing for me.

Busy patch winter smock

2008-03-20T14:01:00.006+11:00

Yeah, I know! This post was supposed to be about the first lot of sewing tips. Apologies, bloggy peeps. Real life got in the way of the blog this past few days, along with angst about the crap photos my pic-snapper was taking.....I had been setting, styling and taking the photos. But the pics I wanted weren't materialising.

So I consoled myself with some sewing. A little smock for the bub's winter wardrobe which I cobbled together over the last few days.

For this trick, I just followed my nose and a photo of a similar cut smock in a japanese kids fashion magazine. There's a lot of baby-wale corduroy (which Anna kindly sent me, thank you!) and the chocolate lollipop print that everyone's seen. I even added some light blue cotton voile as an underskirt, so that the kiddo's tights don't catch on the tiers of stitching underneath.

It looks really cute on her, but hanging on that hanger.......gah! A bit of a pattern explosion methinks. Ah well, might as well road test it first once it gets cooler. It's not a dud yet. Now, I'm on a mission to find a light blue or an apple green skivvy to match.

By the way, the sewing tips are still happening. As of yesterday, the nice geezer gifted me with a new camera to replace the old schonky one. I've been playing with it since and I think this one will do the trick. Just to demonstrate...

I couldn't have taken this photo of the kiddo with the old camera.

Okeydokes! It's back to the tedious house chores for me.

Tootles!

Red berry beret

2008-03-11T09:57:00.006+11:00

Is it me? Or is blogger having a fit again? It took me several attempts and about two hours to load any photos today. Kinda like my newly finished project. Several starts, several kinds of yarn and I only got going after Jeannette at the crochet clinic showed me the error of my ways.

Here's what it looks like on me.....excuse the poor lighting. I had the geezer take a pic before 7am this morning in the brightest room in the place, which happened to be the kitchen. And yes, I'm sitting on the kitchen floor under the skylight. Its still too early for natural light.

I've used just under two balls of the baby cashmerino in the red, which I picked because it appeared to me that the pattern called for 5 ply yarn. Well, that's what I deduced. The pattern is from another japanese craft book, so its really pot luck with the yarn sizing. I might try it again using 8 ply wool to make it floppier next time.

As for the sewing tips posting, thanks so much for the lovely feedback. I'm collecting topics right now to start it off on this blog. I'll post tips once a month.

But first of all (a bit of disclaimer), you need to know that I don't have any formal training in dress making. Everything I've learned I picked up along the way from my mum, various sewing teachers and by endless unpicking of crap stitching on expensive fabric. You learn real quick when you're using good fabric. What I'm trying to say is, I'm no expert sewing guru. But I'm happy to share what I know. Hopefully, the little tricks are as useful to you as they are to me.

Now that we're clear on that, I can get on with my day. The next post will be the first sewing tip, because its time again for some more sewing.

Cheerio!

Starting the sewing blitz

2008-03-07T15:13:00.005+11:00

It would seem to me that summer has by-passed Sydney town......or rather the hot sweltering summer that I know. Just a few days into autumn and I can already feel the cooler temps in the evenings.

Which then brings me to prepping up the kiddo's winter wardrobe with a few essentials that she was missing last year. Well, this is just the start 'cos there's a long list in my head and some colour coordinating to do on the fabric side. Part of the basics: two pairs of stretch knit 100% woollen leggings, embellished with a bit of crochet lace (we all know how much I love crochet lace!).

The fabric is lovely, soft and warm, just the exact kind I wanted. From here, of course. And the pattern is a modified version of the one in this craft book. The little model is napping, so no action shots today.

For those willing to start venturing into the realm of sewing knit fabrics, don't forget to use a jersey ball-point needle. Or suffer the grief having your machine eat up the fabric!

On a side note, would you bloggy folks be interested in clothes sewing tips and techniques? I'm thinking of starting a blog post series to share some of my sewing know-how. Not a blow-by-blow how-to on making a top. I'm crap at tutorials. More like how to finish a skirt hem or how to sew the invisible hemming stitch by hand or......you get the picture. We can even exchange stories on how we figured out this or that detail, like inserting invisible zips....arghhh! I've only done this once and I'm going to have to look up my trusty sewing book again to refresh. Anyhow, do let me know if you take a liking to this idea. I'm open to suggestions for specific topics.

Also, Teresa asked a question in the comments of this post on where to source the fabric stamp inks. Hi Teresa! The fabric stamp inkpads are made by Versacraft, and are branded either Versacraft or Fabrico. I got mine from a local craft show last year, however they should be easy to track down online.

Okeydokes! Must run. Tootles for now!

More crochet madness

2008-03-04T11:01:00.002+11:00

What can I say?! I'm addicted to crochet projects now.

Just as well, I was bunged up again with a bug of sorts last week. I was so lethargic, I only had enough energy for repetitive wrist action.

This one's a scarf for the kiddo, made with one ball of Grignasco Bambi Merino Extrafine in an eye-popping shade of melon (although I think they've called it "salmon").

The pattern is just a simple sequence of chains and single crochet stitches from this craft book. Here's a better view.

Since I'm feeling much better today, I better go cuddle the sewing machine. It's feeling a tad neglected. And while we're at it, there's a pile of housie chores that I've been avoiding. Methinks I need to take the blinkers off.

Cheerio!

Two for the price of one

2008-02-27T20:30:00.003+11:00

What the?! Two posts in a week? What's this blog coming to???

I finished another project and rather than waiting around for the weekend, I thought....arghhh! Okay. Let's do some night blogging, then I can move on to the next project. Either way, consider this my weekend post if I don't see you in four days.

Anyhow, I now seem to have something crochet-y in the works, while I play around with the fabric piles. This one's a winter beanie for the bub made from Zarina Print. But blimey! I was following a pattern for 8 ply yarn, using 4 ply. So winged it I did past Row 8, plonking it on her head every few rows to see if I need to do another one. Guessing the spots where I needed to do the increase. Really! Stupid newbies! (I'm too ambitious for my own good sometimes.)

Then I had to go and embellish it with a flower......

....or I should say "cauliflower". Dang!

I do believe this "blossom" is over-powering my cute "blossom". I hacked it off right away....gently, of course. It's now living its second life as a brooch. Much better.

Hokay! I'm off to join the geezer watch The Office, the brit version, on DVD.

Good night!

Scrappy dappy doo

2008-02-26T10:39:00.005+11:00

Yep, I dove right into the scrap box again, just for want of something new to do (like I don't have other projects that need finishing, what the hey!). The scrap box needs tidying up anyway.

Anyhow, while I was trawling through the blogosphere last week, I saw Lisa's houses (aren't they fab?!) and I was inspired. So I pulled out this housie patchwork book I acquired sometime back and got stuck into it. Making pretty pictures with fabric.

Then because I still had all those stamps littering the craft table, I thought, why not? I have some fabric stamp pads on hand.....must really get some more colours at the next craft show.

It's all a bit fiddly and that roof section took me several seam-rippings to get right on the first block. But since I'm not in a hurry, I'll just do a bit here-and-there until they all start to pile up.

So cute, it's very distracting. Methinks this is the start of a new quilt (maybe for the bub).....when I should really be working on a couch quilt for the living room. Gah!

Finishing details

2008-02-23T14:18:00.003+11:00

We'll interrupt our regular sewing program with some gift wrapping. It's for that birthday party tomorrow that I mentioned in my previous post.

I'm knee-deep into making gift tags for the various presents. Oh, didn't I tell you? There's three presents to go with three small people. Busy time of year for birthdays. In fact, its about to get busier. Gah!

In the days BC (that's "before crafting", which coincides with BB, ie "before bub"), I used to practice speed wrapping. That would be haphazardly wrapping the present five minutes before I walk out the door to get to the current do. It's embarrassing how my presents looked like a slab of fish-n-chips from the fishmonger. After all, its the inside that counts right?

Nowadays, I take so much time to choose the right paper, tie some pretty ribbon and make the gift tags. Putting a stamp of individuality on pieces of card and paper that will most likely end in the rubbish. I know. I know. I'm trying to compensate for the fact that some of the actual presents are store-bought.

Anyhow, I'm trying to gear up to try my hand at making my own stamps one day. I've got all the tools. But geez, I wish all 24 hours were mine to squander. For the moment, I'll just collect them shall I? Stamps are from Leslie's shop and from this fabulous etsy find, which I've kept secret squirrel for far too long. He he he! Don't go nuts now.

Okay, that pun was intended!

Kiddo apron

2008-02-20T15:42:00.007+11:00

I was missing my sewing machine (was it missing me?) so I went back to it this week with a small project. For a small person. She's having her third birthday this coming weekend.

I spotted a cute kid's baking set the other week locally up on our neighbourhood shopping strip. And I had the idea of whipping up a pretty apron to go with the baking set.

So a length of blue ricrac, little bo peep and some polka dots (love, love, love this fabric!) later, we have a kid's apron. It kinda just fits me......hmmm, not really.

This is the first time I've tried a patched pocket, where I'm actually happy with the results. And instead of shirring, I did some pleats at the waist, just for something different.

I found some spare time today, if you're asking why the mid-week post. This one's for you, Cathy! I'll try to sneak in an extra blog post where I can.

Anyhow, we actually have some sun today! Must go out and enjoy it!

Cheerio!

Hurrying the late valentine

2008-02-16T13:24:00.004+11:00

I know, I know! I'm extremely late for a valentine's day post. We tend to turn our nose up at gushy, lovey-dovey over here. It's that strong pragmatic streak in the blood, I think. But this cute little card from Anna is just the bee's knees. I can't stop looking at it. (It's now taking pride of place on my inspiration board.)

And seriously, that crochet edge is giving me raptures! Guess what the next crochet obsession will be. He he he!

But let's segue now into my newest finished woolie project. Ta da! Introducing my ripple scarf.

Upsides to crochet, I can take it anywhere, the car, the couch, the bed, the park. Not that I took it to the park. And it's remarkably obsessive stuff. Every time I want to put it down, its always "come on, just another row......or three".

Anyhow, the yarn I used is Filatura Di Crosa Zara for the plummy maroon colour and Sublime extra fine merino wool DK for the grey, 'cos they ran out of the grey in the Zara.

Here 'tis modelled on moi.

For now I'll leave you with a pretty bunch of glass-house long stemmed roses from the geezer. Like I've said before, he's such a good boy!

Cheerio for now!

Go ahead, make my day

2008-02-14T13:54:00.006+11:00

Because I feel the pull of the blog.....and because I feel the need, like ice cream on a hot day, like freshly roasted coffee in the morning, like the lure of a fabric shop, ahem, any day.

And when I received this beautiful swappage from Nicolette the other day, wowee, did it really make my day! She made the bub this cute fishy softie......

And I got this huge, and I mean HUGE, lot of fabric and bias trims. I do believe that the bar has been raised higher yet again with this wonderful package from Nicolette.

These are my faves. Tulips, dutch boys and dutch girls..........

dotty snails, ladybugs and butterflies.......

and this beautiful pre-quilted panel, that looks like an Oilily print. I love these vivid colours!

But wait, there's more! Orange flavoured dark chocolate, an avalanche of lollies, stickers and felt flowers.

It's going to be very difficult to top this package, Nicolette. Thank you, thank you very much!

Then just when I think I've had enough excitement for the day, on my front step lands this lovely package from Fiona. I had been lamenting earlier about having depleted my stash of those key-rings.

She thoughtfully came to my rescue and sent some my way, along with some colourful zips and felt shapes. Thank you, thank you very much, my dear!

And if you thought that wasn't enough, I'm now going to go linky on you and nominate the other bloggy peeps I'm bestowing the "You Make My Day" award. First of all, snap to Kate, Jhoanna, Di and Sue, because everything they create is so beautiful and inspiring. I'm always oggling and thinking I want to make something like that, too.

Last, but not the least I'm also tapping Beki, Anna, Louise, Cathy and Tamara......because they're just the nicest ladies and their blogs are always chock-full of inspiration. Whenever I see a new post in these blogs on bloglines, I'm always surfing over there for a look-see.

Anyhow, I gotta get back to my trusty crochet hook and finish this project, otherwise there won't be anything to show this weekend.

Cheerio!

Of fabric & yarn

2008-02-10T14:53:00.001+11:00

Time for another check-in with the bloggy peeps before February gets away from us. And I've been a busy bee. Oh yes, I have!

Those flowery bits? I don't know what to do with the crocheted flowers yet, but I've got my thinking cap on quite snug. Plans are afoot. But then there's so many. What to choose? What to choose?

First up, I whipped up a pair of bibs for a bub who's supposed to be coming out of the oven any day now. I'm expecting a little text message from the lucky new parents soon.

Then yesterday I had a round of night sewing after biting the bullet with this Built by Wendy pattern. It's been languishing in the stash for more than half a year and I happened upon a piece of fabric at Tessuti's I took a liking to. (By the way, did you know that Tessuti's now has a blog?) This is my take on the pattern....somewhere between View C and View A, with a different hemming technique 'cos I never could entirely follow a pattern.

Anyhow, the fabric. It's got skeletons in double breasted suits.....he he he. Quirky? Yep.

However, my new love affair with yarn doesn't seem to be waning. These are the flavours of my current wip. It's about three-quarters done. So it should be presentable in a few days.

Who knows? I could get so excited with the finish, I might blog about it mid-week. Let's cross our fingers, shall we?

Also, thank you very much to Di, Kate, Sue and Jhoanna for passing on the "You Make My Day" badge to this little corner of the blogosphere. All you ladies are too nice for words! I promise to post my list soon. And if I forget, do feel free to bug me!

Cheerio!

Another big fat finish

2008-02-02T14:30:00.000+11:00

I'm talking about that "big girl" quilt, the top of which I whizzed through so long ago. It had an extended stay with the quilter over the holidays and I just got it back a fortnight ago. I've been busy with the binding....and now its finally presentable.

On hindsight, I probably should have propped it on the washing line for a better photo. But the line is folded up at the moment and most likely filthy, so this pic will have to do for this gal's crafting annals. Thank you muchly to the geezer, for bearing with me while I did the pic-snapping.

And thank you to everyone, too, for your concern about the state of our sniffles. We all seem to have gotten rid of it now. But you all must be wondering why this place has turned into a thrice weekly blog-post spot to once-a-week. I've kinda been sneaky and put a cap on my daily internet surfing.....which is good, since I'm feeling less guilty about ignoring both the other two humans over here. Plus, there is now more time for crafting, carefully planned meals and other summer pursuits. Consequently, the actual blog posts have been thin on the ground.....which is bad. But I can live with it. Either way, the crafting and art-ing shall continue.

So I'm going back to my stack of wips. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Cheerio!

Yarn play

2008-01-26T08:18:00.000+11:00

Forgive me for being absent. I've been preoccupied with my new toys.....some wool and a crochet hook. Ack! I can't believe I'm enjoying this! We've also been a very snotty household (blame the bub's germs) the past week. The crochet thankfully can be taken to the couch or to bed. So after about four days of wrist-work, this collection of limbs, ears and torso finally took shape.

After some more stitching, which took less time than one of those ears, here's the bub's new playmate. I just managed to take one happy snap, before she swiped it off the fabric pile.

And speaking of fabric, I do believe the mojo has been restored back to ship-shape. Very soon, I'll be showing some fabric I've been playing with.

Hokay, we're off to enjoy the sun. Cheerio!

Mojo shmojo

2008-01-21T08:33:00.000+11:00

Really, my mojo levels are not up to the usual worthy of this blog. It's quite frustrating 'cos I've got at least two outstanding projects which should've been finished last year. The inspiration is still not up to par around here, but I may have found something to wake-up the creative impetus.

About a fortnight ago, spurred on by the ripple-envy from last year's craze, I signed up to a beginner's crochet class at Tapestry Craft. That's my class practice swatch down there.

I've been wanting to play with yarn for a bit, but have been and still am a miserable failure at knitting. There was that granny square lesson I did last year, which I'm afraid has since evaporated into the ether. And some unsuccessful attempts at trying to pick it up from reading books and tutorials online. Anyhow, I must've absorbed enough crochet know-how bits that it all just clicked during the lesson on Saturday.

I've just finished tackling "soft waves" on a practice swatch with some cheap yarn. I know. I'm so behind the times. And lookee, lookee! I can see a nice new scarf for me this winter, once I've tripped up to get some better wool, of course. (Note to self - do not build a yarn stash!)

I'm diving right this moment into attempting something from this book. Wish me luck!

And I hope everyone had a good weekend. Cheerio!

Horsing around

2008-01-15T13:28:00.000+11:00

I have, I have...but in a crafty way, of course. All that thread sorting got me itchy for some hand stitching. And I ended up with another keyring of a dala horse. This one was actually inspired by this card I've saved in my etsy favourites.

I've sewn the japanese flowery fabric on the back and some spare numbers tape for the loop. My thoughtful sister got me a packet of those metal rings last year.....could she possibly get me some more??? Hint, hint.

Here's a close-up of the stitching for you curious peeps.

The mojo is still a bit on-and-off, so methinks I'll just go with the flow for now and do some actual pattern tracing. Where it leads, the stash or the couch, could only be a good thing.

Cheerio!

Slow wake-up

2008-01-11T09:26:00.001+11:00

Methinks the crafting mojo is waking up slowly. I've been coaxing it with a lot of inspiring blog reading and flickr oggling, as well as some craft book page turning.

Thank you, bloggy peeps, for empathising with me. Perhaps it's the heat (although it isn't quite as extreme up our way as for melbourne peeps), perhaps I just need a bit of caffeine in my veins. Either way, I managed one pair of linen trousers for the bub's summer wardrobe. She needs another since she's grown taller again. Gah!

I love this dotty linen fabric! I luckily nabbed it last year from Leslie's shop, for this exact purpose....clothes for the kiddo. Aww geez! Cutting into any of the precious japanese fabric was a little painstaking, since I didn't want to waste it by botching the garment. Fortunately, I had already previously sewn the exact same pattern, just needed to lengthen the leg. It looks very cute on her!

What's next on the list? A bit of thread sorting, I think and some pattern tracing for today. I'm going to keep the momentum happening today. Fingers crossed!

Still the slacker

2008-01-08T14:26:00.000+11:00

Perhaps I should be careful what I say in the first few days of the year.....as I seemed to have slipped into a malaise which I'm all too happy to languish in. I've been alternating between tea and cake, while watching a pile of foreign movies.

It didn't help that the computer had been running at a snail's pace for the last fortnight, since we somehow chewed up our broadband allowance too quickly. Someone (the geezer) had been spending too much time on youtube. Blechh!

There has been no crafting of any kind, unless you call fabric fondling a kind of "crafting". No sewing. No painting. No sketching, and up till now no inclination to blog. I just thought to retrieve myself from the comfy couch and let you all know I'm still here.

And I'll be back....don't you worry. I reckon all that intense gift-making leading up to christmas has just tired me a wee bit. Can I count some of those as part of January's quota? Hmmm.

Anyhow, I've already got some more summer clothing planned for the bub and possibly something for me, too. They're just waiting to be cut up and whizzed through.

Okay! I must run! Mostly Martha is waiting. Tootles!

Slacker is my middle name

2008-01-02T11:52:00.000+11:00

I hope everyone had a smashing new year! We all stayed up for the 9 o'clock fireworks, otherwise known as the "nanna" fireworks, walking just around the corner to view them from the local neighbourhood grassy strip. By midnight, everyone was in bed and I had to poke the geezer awake just to look at the fireworks from our bedroom window. We can just see the one closest to Manly.

But there is some art! I finished this outstanding project on the last day of 2007.....the very reason of my slacker-ness. Aren't I a slow-poke? (Hopefully, I've now responded to everyone who I owe an extremely late email.)

This really is a painting I made just for me. Having been creating and giving away all those presents got me all worked up and motivated to finish this before the start of the new year.

I'm eagerly ready for whole new batch of projects. I just need to get better organised. And now that the geezer has gone back to work, we can all go back to our regular routines......and I can hog the computer again. He he he!

Okeydokes! I'm off to use up the rest of nap-time thinking up the next lot of crafty to make. I'm intent on easing into the new year slowly. Hope you have a good week! Cheerio!

Recovering from the frenzy

2007-12-27T07:14:00.000+11:00

That's two days of eating frenzy. We aussies have this extra day called Boxing Day, the day after Christmas....where we're supposed to open all the present boxes. I reckon its just an excuse for another public holiday. But who's complaining? There's all that eating (and drinking) to be had.

Anyhow, I can now reveal the present I made for my sis. I'm happy to say she loved it! This is the keyring front......

.....and the back. I'm just chuffed it turned out so nice.

And as usual I wanted to keep it, too, but when you get to the eleventh hour, all the shops have closed and the ones still open are selling crap wares....the "push came to the shove" and I had to put something in giftwrap. Here's the close-up of the stitching.

Lastly, I nearly forgot to share some fabric haul from our mini-break last week. For all you peeps who are fans of the French style of crafting shown in Marie Claire Idees', I found a shop in the middle of the Hunter Valley with lots of long bolts of the most beautiful French quilting fabric. The shop is called Les Indiennes de Provence.....and Sydneysiders, they've got a shop in the QVB. I only managed to walk out with some fat quarters cos' its a bit on the pricey side. But it's one of those situations where if I didn't have the bub running amok or the geezer crossing his arms and tapping his toes outside, I could've easily convinced myself to get some more yardage to make into a summer dress for the little kiddo. Awww geez, as if I need any more fabric!

Okeydokes! I now gotta get us ready to meet a friend for brunch.....hope everyone's having a good week. Cheerio!

The best surprise

2007-12-24T08:59:00.000+11:00

You know the postal service is working their butts off when they drop off lovely somethings on your doorstep one day before christmas. I'm very impressed! But mostly, I'm squealing with excitement when I realised whom it was from and what it was.

Back in the mists of time I signed up for the PIF thingy on Anna's blog. I've been an avid reader of Anna's blog for a while. So many creative pursuits and craftiness. (I really dig her sense of humour, too) And she sent me the bestest package ever!

One of her roly-poly bunny pin cushions for me to adopt....

and this soooo pretty doll quilt! (Apologies for the atrocious photos, bad light, poor camera!)

Spoiled! I'm being spoiled! Thank you so very much, Anna! The bub is giving you a massive big smooch, too.

There's also some stickers and chocolate, but guess-who filched them just as I undid all the wrapping. I'll have to go hunting in her hidey holes 'cos I want that chocolate.

And thank you to you peeps for your "sisterly" gift ideas. I'm filing them all away for future christmases and birthdays 'cos I just know I'll be stuck again. I finished my sister's present yesterday morning. However, because she reads this blog I'll do the show-and-tell after tomorrow.

Merry christmas, everyone!

Two more days....dum dee dum dum

2007-12-21T15:51:00.000+11:00

Have I fallen off the face of the virtual earth? Nope. But I've been keeping my arse busy trying to finish a few more presents. Like this purty linen shopping bag....which I'd like to keep for myself.

And this pair of simple cushions....recognise the fabric? We also just came back from our mini-break recently and I've been doing the headless chook routine what with getting all the holiday shopping in check before the family christmas pre-dinner on Sunday afternoon. In two days! Yikes!

Really, I've got just over a day and a half to figure out and make a present for my dear sister. Will I ever get that under control? Or will I just succumb to some more retail therapy? Pledge be-damned. I'm running out of time and ideas. What do you make for the girl who has everything she wants and needs?

Anyhow, we had a nice relaxing time in our local wine region. Lots of bottle collecting, lots of cheese tasting, lots of eating rich food and lots of drinking to go with the eating. Can't get too tippled anymore, you know. I'm now a responsible parent who has to keep an eagle eye on an increasingly cheeky bub. And for all the photo taking I did, I must've been slightly affected 'cos this is the only decent one to show. She's recently taken to scrunching her face whenever she smiles. Cheeky, indeed!

And if I don't see you before the 25th, have a right rolicking merry one! Cheerio!