So I've been busy

It's been a busy few weeks.
I stayed in Sydney for 2 days so I could go to the Darling Harbour craft show. It was wonderful. I spent way too much but had so much fun.

I was inspired by all the beautiful quilts......perhaps a little too much, as I came home the proud owner of a new sewing machine. I tested it out on Tuesday.

Kimono fabric Kisslock Purse

And my 5yr old daughter tested it on Wednesday (there was a school strike). Isn't she clever? I did the ironing and rotary cutting tho.

Little Misses cushion - front

Little Misses cushion - back

I also made 50 sets of my hairclips for a local school.....doesn't it kill your fingers to work with buttons in quantity?

More Knitting, frogging and shopping!

I'm a sporadic blogger, aren't I? Anyway I have still got the knitting bug.
I've made more baby hats....and frogged some that I made a mistake with :-(

frogging

Joel beanie

Ruth Ann Bonnet

And I have bought some more wool....I've never used this brand before. It's to make my son a beanie. I bought it at a local wool shop. I like buying craft things from small local businesses. Hopefully they won't all disappear, if I buy from them. Large multinational companies staffed by 15yr olds are for dry goods, electrical wares and cheap imported kids clothes, nobody there would know anything about the product they are selling.


New Wool

When I was little there were lots of small craft shops around. I can remember one in my very own suburb. She used to do a 'Knitaway'....kind of like a layby, she would put away enough wool for whatever the project was and you would buy the wool one ball at a time as needed. Can you imagine anyone doing that now?

Knitting

Over the school holidays, I was knitting. It's really the perfect craft for when the kids are about, easy to put down, relaxing.....but you still get a feeling of accomplishment.

My mum taught me to knit when I was 5, and I still do it the same way, by hand, counting rows with needle holes in the woolband, the only thing that has changed is that now I do my own making up :-). I usually knit during winter and pick HUGE projects that I take forever to finish, so this year I raided my stash for lonely balls of baby wool or 8ply. This was the result - although 3 things in this pic still need finishing touches. I estimate I have enough of the wool from my stash left to do 2 more pairs of booties.

handknits done over the Easter break

Baby things it seems are just the right size to try out new stitch or colour combinations. Even if they are totally pointless as my children are older and no one I know is expecting.

I enjoyed it so much that I treated myself to a couple of balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto and I must say that I am enjoying knitting with this wool so much that I may never buy another ball of another brand. Look how distinct the pattern is showing up!

on the needles

Next I really need to make up the Jo Sharp kimono style jacket I made myself last year....and knit just one more sleeve for my daughters cardigan, thank heavens I choose the larger size for her otherwise it would already be too late!

Pretty colours

autumn leaves against a cloudy sky

I want to make something in these colours!

The dog ate it....

I haven't crocheted in a looong time. I can do it, but I prefer knitting. Last night I sat up and made this flower (after changing to a lighter wool cause I can't see anymore). The morning I showed my daughter who dropped it.....the dog promptly picked it up and and chewed it to pieces before we could get it back.

crochet flower

 So instead I let her loose in my stash of knitted flowers, this is what she chose. I'm told it gets very cold here in winter....maybe she needs matching gloves!

a new hat for winter

Cupcakes

This was my grandmother's patty cake pan, I actually have three. When she became to sick to bake, my mother used it. Now mum is disinterested in cooking and I use it.

Patty Cakes

Today I baked a double batch, for the schools cake stall. Made using 6 of my aunty's home grown eggs. But it is used regularly, the kids like to take 'junk' food for school lunches. And the last time I bought cakes I read the ingredients - I wasn't sure if they were food or a maths lesson, from the amount of numbers in them!

I am.......easily distracted.....

Yesterday I went into my sewing room. I was looking for a nice print to use as a lining.
Instead I found a totally useless scrap of this print. I have made a skirt (which no longer fits) and a bag from this fabric previously and I'm down to bitsy pieces with it.

Hand embroidery embellished print

I had seen this idea previously on a blog....embellishing a print with embroidery, and had always wanted to try it. I used one strand of DMC floss, satin stitch, lazy daisy, fly stitch and colonial knots - colonial knots are the one where you make a figure 8 around the needle, I find it easier than french knots :-).

Design wall thingy

The other thing I managed to do, was hang a strand of wire between two command hooks.....so that little bits stay out to inspire me.

Just couldn't wait.....

This is what I did with the willow pattern doily from a few weeks ago!

from tattered doily to kisslock purse

I had so much fun making it, that I made another - this time with a scrap of Saffron Craig fabric I have been hoarding for years!

A Saffron Craig Screenprint

Kitchen Canister

I found this great little canister thing, not sure i would want to store food in it, but, how awesome for stashing bits and pieces.....

wooden canister

I especially like this..at some stage it was a budgeting tool! The drawers were marked on the base with spending categories. I do it all online!



labelled with gas, water, rates & electricity

How do you manage your money?



What a learning experience!

Now I know I am talking to myself here, but remember the cut out pouches from my last post?

Finished Pouches

This is a great way to work, I've never completed so much in so little time. One thing I would do if I was going to make only pouches and bags is interface the whole yardage before putting the fabric away -  interfacing probably took the longest. I made all the dark ones assembly line fashion....which seemed to take forever, but got a lot done in a less time. The lighter ones I made one by one, which seemed to take longer but was more fun!

And it was all done in blocks of 1/2 hour in between chores.

Making me happy

After all the wet weather we have been having, call me a dag, but I think this is the nicest thing to see....clean washing, drying on the line!

Clean washing & Sunshine

My son went to a birthday party....so this is what he gave his friend, a set of lego textas and I made a Star Wars pouch to keep them in.

Star Wars Pencil Case

And finally I drove to Canberra and went to the Handmade Upmarket...........beautiful work by so many talented people....I can't hope to be as creative and as clever as the people who had stalls, but I came home inspired. So after I do the groceries tomorrow I have all this sewing prepared!

Zip Pouches cut out and ready to go

Busy month - secondhand rose

I have had a really big month. My daughter started Kindergarten....which is a huge adjustment for both of us. My son got accepted into a gifted and talented creative writing course (only one day, but I'm still really proud). We got a puppy.....or we might have already had the puppy, she just got more of a nuisance!

Rosie

You would think that with all the extra time with both kids at school I would be blogging and crafting madly, but strangely enough I have totally ran out of inspiration. I know I used to love blogging so I thought I would start posting pictures of secondhand things every Friday. Most of my belongings are secondhand so I have lots to get through. If anyone out there wants to join in, please leave a comment and I will look at your belongings too.

Yellow Elephant Planter

I wanted to buy some bright ceramic pots as this house has enough light that pot plants don't die as soon as I bring them home, but it is impossible to find ceramic pots in a bright colour around here! So I went to my favourite secondhand shop...The Everything Shop....and found this cool elephant!

New Projects

And finally in an effort to find my crafting mojo I grabbed an old 'blue willow' pattern tray cloth and a small piece of co-ordinating cotton.  The plan is to turn them into something by Thursday next week!

Under 1 hour.....

This year both of my children have identical school bags.....part of their school uniform. When I went to pack them today I realised that if I couldn't tell which bag was which, how were the kids meant to pick their bag out of the 20 or so identical bags per class?

bag labels for school

So I made these.......... Scraps from the sewing room table, a grommet or two and key ring things......it took under an hour (I know because the next door neighbour took my daughter to play with her kids for the hour), problem sorted!

And I sewed...

So I have been sewing.....

Upcycled zip pouches

And sorting....

Fabric being unpacked and sorted!

The room still doesn't look like much, but it's getting used!

I got my electricity bill......

No, this isn't a whinge about the cost of electricity........the price is quite manageable. It just brought it to my attention that I have lived in this house for nearly 2 months and still haven't unpacked.
Oh the basics are out. Kitchen, clothes and the kids toys, but most of my personal stuff is still in boxes in the garage - the car lives in the driveway.

So to cut a long story short, I was inspired by the little miss who cut back bushes for me on the weekend - a whole 3m worth!

Gardening!

No this isn't as dangerous as it looks, the scissors are blunt and she was supervised.

It was her dogged sticking to it that inspired me...and now I have the sewing machine set up! And I even sewed something, but that's another story.