A thoroughly crafty January

Well, here it is Australia Day and we are not being particularly patriotic or doing anything especially exciting but we will have lamb chops barbecued for tea and if I can be motivated to turn the oven on there will be anzac biscuits!

As our holidays draw to a close I thought I would show you a bit of a crafty round up of what I have been doing.  My friend Kathy has had a Spin-a-long happening for January so there has been quite a bit of spinning:

Stained Glass colourway in merino/bamboo plied with undyed Polwarth

Fuzzy brown Autumn merino plied with an Autumn Romney Ball and then the leftover merino plied back on itself.

A lovely denim merino gifted to me in our Kathy's Fibres Christmas swap - this is sooooo soft and smooshy!

I had a great day sewing with my friend Rozzie and managed to finish these sweet little sewing bags from the Spoonful of Sugar book.  She taught me how to do C2C crochet - who knew it was that easy?!? I think this will be my favourite way of making wash cloths and bathmats and squares for Wraps with Love - so quick!

In the Ravelry, Indie Giftalong I discovered a designer called Susie Sparkles who makes beautiful seamless baby clothes so I joined a KAL to do "Betsy" using some 8 ply from stash - it felt good to use it up!

I also did a few test knits including this sweet little hat (not much into colourwork but this one was surprisingly easy)

I cleaned up my crafty corner a bit and found this rainbow four ply cardi that was never going to get finished.  It is big enough for my wild, wild, rainbow child Selena (my niece).

 In response to the Women's marches happening in the US I knit a Pussy Cat Hat in solidarity.  It will go in the bag for the Kurdistan refugees as I think it is fitting that it helps keep some other girls heads and hearts warm. This is such an easy way to make a hat that I think I will do a few kid's sized ones and send them to the camps - they might bring a smile to some little faces.

Now I am working on a bigger test knit for my niece.

In between all the crafting there has been lovely time spent with friends and extended family, lots of sleepins, an ENORMOUS amount of reading including the perfect holiday read of "Paris is Always a Good Idea" as well as some great craft books and the beautiful "A Year Between Friends" which I honestly did not want to end! It has been a great holiday. Just perfect for getting things done (like unpacking boxes that have been languishing for 12 months, and sorting the linen cupboard, and trying a couple of new recipes.  Just perfect for down time - icecream in the hammock anyone? Bubble bath with chocolate and a good book?

Wherever you are, whoever you are, may the New Year heap her blessings on you! Now back to work for me!
Happy crafting,
Nell
xx

Kick the Bucket and Julie and Julia

There has been lots of frenzied crafting here after the boy announced that we would holiday at the beach all of this week.  I have finished the Nokomis test knit (and this pattern has been released on Rav)  It is a super quick and super easy sweet little knit (and best of all Mads loves it and wants to wear it!)

I also finished the Gruffalo Hat in time to wear to the forest with kindy.  I am claiming that as a Julie and Julia project as I modified the polar bear hat from the book "Animal Hats" which is making its way into my library as we speak!

And then there was some hurried finishing on this little guy.  My friend started this Melly and Me "Dilbert" pattern a long time ago.  She did all the hard work and then gifted it to me to finish.  As she has a new little grandson I finished it to give to him. Tick that one off the Kick the Bucket list.

Just lately I have been VERY naughty in adding to fibre and fabric stashes so I am cold sheeping/stash busting for a while to make up for it.  

 Of course part of that means spinning up all of the "little" and random bits that I have accumulated - like this blue/black that I aquired in a swap.

It is "Tour De Fleece" at the moment so I am trying to spin as often as I can while that is on.

And, of course, next weekend is my consultant and friends scrapping retreat so there is a bit of crazy packing going on too!

Life is never dull when you are busy LOL

Have a great week folks!

Just some stuff...

So what do you do while this sweet baby girl is at kindy? You fill the morning with meaningless busy work; the post office run,a few loads of washing, some groceries... and then in the afternoon you make her a new skirt just because you can and because you hope that some part of her will know how much she was missed.

This week will be easier as I am working a few days and have spinning on Thursday and some friends to catch up with. Last week I wasn't quite ready for company. I needed to have these days to adjust to the end of an era and the start of something new. I have finished my second set of socks on two straight needles.

I think the little Miss was suitably impressed.

On Friday Close to My Heart hosted a "Pyjama Party" online at Big Picture Classes. I really enjoyed listening to Ali Edwards (who I have long been a fan of) and Stacey Julian. Some of the stuff that Stacey was saying made so much sense to me. I have always struggled with feeling like I need to scrapbook chronologically and yet some of my favourite pages have been collections of photos around a theme (like the layouts of the kids taken each month on their birthdate for the first 12 months) or layouts of the 3 of them in similar poses as babies. So I have done something scary and signed up for Stacey's "Inspired Scrapping" 12 month course. January's topic was Seasons - not so much calendar seasons as "seasons of life" so this was my first layout for that theme.

And this is the layout from the Pyjama Party (modified to make it into a double page layout)

I am really enjoying my scrapping lately. I think that finally I have got over some of the grief of last year and can really focus on enjoying Close To My Heart and all of those yummy new products. Have an awesome week! Keep smiling , Nell

Kick the Bucket January Finish

Ta Daaahhh! One finished smocked dress.

The original recipient of this dress is now 12.  Then I was going to finish it for Hannah, then my niece Steph, then her sister Abigail, and finally now it has been finished for Miss Maddie.  It is not a great dress.  Dodgy smocking skills and rather dodgy sewing skills, but it has twirl factor, and because of the generous cut should fit her for a long time (don't worry, I am under no illusions that she will get to outgrow it - being white I am sure it will become stained and unrecognisable long before then!)

The kids are off to Granny and Grandpa's for a few days next week so who knows - maybe I can get more than one thing finished this month?!?!

Back in the crafty zone!

Why will I never learn that when my crafting mojo is at a low I just need a few quick easy projects.  There is nothing like a bit of instant gratification to get the crafty juices flowing again.  A friend on www.ravelry.com is collecting little hats for a NZ hospital that was affected by the earthquakes so I have been "playing" with some beautiful watermelon coloured 4ply from www.kathysfibres.com and some leftovers from my stash.

This little hat ended up too big for the hospital but found a willing recipient.  I love how this one turned out!  I also really love that it turned out how I planned.  I find crochet so easy that way - I could never mess with knitting the way I play with crochet.  Now I want to make some smaller versions of these for the hospital.  If anyone else is keen to get involved Kathy and I are sending the hats off at the start of March.

Some more impromptu projects - the kids had school swimming this week and needed a separate bag for their swimming stuff - these took next to no time to make using bits from my stash (I think I bought this fabric to make jammies and never got there?)  I lined them with a really thick vinyl that was bought to make a weighted quilt for Autism SA (I sometimes have good intentions - I bought all the stuff and then it got too hard and the child it was for moved on before it was finished - I still feel a bit guilty about that so it was kind of nice to at least put the vinyl to good use)  If I was making these again I would try using the iron-on vinyl as this is pretty heavy duty.  Not to worry as I figure I've probably only got a few years before these Mummy-made bags will be considered seriously uncool!

I've also been doing some alterations on a nasty little 80s number for the 80s Murder Mystery that I am going to on Friday.  My alterations left me with enough fabric for 2 whopping great scrunchies to complete the look - urk!!! The 80s were so not good!!!

There has also been progress on my applique borders and I have finally figured out what I am doing for the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I may or may not have been slightly sidetracked by a yummy Ruby layer cake that fell into my bag at quilting last weekend (I know - so against the simple living stuff and the 12 WIP but I just HAD TO!)  I am itching to start that project!!!!

I have also spent considerable time op shopping with the Madster (ostensibly to find 80s accessories)  The last thrifty finds included a pair of near new pink converses in Maddie's size, a metre and a half of vintage floral (yeah, I feel just like Kate www.foxslane.blogspot.com )  The gorgeous blue bowl cost a whole 50cents and the Royal Albert saucer (I LOVE Royal Albert!!) was 30cents!!!  I have a slight obsession with mismatched china.

Last but not least, today I found these new cups (4 in blue and 4 in red!) that fit perfectly in the coffee machine - oh happy day!  Can you see a trend emerging in my new crafty space?

You won't hear from me again this week - after teaching tomorrow I fly out Thursday for my Creative Memories Leadership Conference at Kingscliff (such a tough life!!!)
Until next time,
keep smiling,
Nell
xxx

YAY! Another Finish!

Okay, whilst strictly not part of the 12 Projects Challenge (see my last post) at least I finally have this one off my WIP list.  These are my first ever socks knitted on 2 circular needles.  There was a little bit of chaos in our house this week when the small cherub wore the one finished sock around the house and lost it before I even had a chance to finish the pair.  Thankfully, order has now been restored and today while the cherub was sleeping and the other two were having "Quiet Time" in Hannah's room (which I believe involved a fashion parade and lots of repeat renditions of Taylah Swift's Love Story LOL) I was able to do the toe decreases and say TA DAHHHH!

When I was binding Hannah's quilt I took the easy option and did it the way my friend Jill does a lot of her charity quilts (stitched the binding from the back and then used a small zigzag stitch to secure around the front)  I was surprised by how easy and quick it was.  It was so easy that then I decided to have a little play making a pot-mitt.  I have seen similar in Amanda Blake Soule's book and also the Marla Dubrowsky book but this was my super-fast, not too precious take on it.  With my walking foot still on the machine I took a bit of scrap batting, some leftover fabric for the backing and my box of strips.  I just laid the strips out and stitched right through all 3 layers.  I used my big scrapbooking circle as a template to cut it into a circle but you could easily use a plate.  I used leftover binding from Hannah's cherry dress and bound it using the zigzag method described above.  This little project took less than 15 minutes from start to finish and it felt good to just create using scraps!  I'm thinking that these could make cute gifts with cooking equipment or even just a batch of muffins/scones?

There are lots of scrappy projects happening over at www.pleasant-home.com

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday.  I'm off to purge and declutter in pig pen corner!
Oh, and today I am grateful for Quiet Time, and for children that don't complain about swimming even when the water is freezing!

Finishing Stuff!

Inspired by this (the Patchwork Apple's Civil War and Repros exhibition) I went home and found the BOM medallion quilt that I started about 6 years ago.  I just could not for the life of me get the centre square to work.  I tried so many times and it just never fitted so I threw the whole lot in a cupboard and forgot about it.  At the exhibition Jane had the original quilt on display and I still loved it (funny how some of the quilts I loved 6 years ago are now ho hum and others stand the test of time)  Anyway, I came home and hunted for the pieces.  Not an easy task amongst the mess. That is when I discovered that some parts from the first block were missing in action so I had to find similar fabric.  After lots of hunting and searching I was about to press the replacement fabric when what should I find on the floor next to the ironing board... the pieces all ready to go in a zip lock bag - sometimes I seriously think the Big Guy Upstairs just loves to teach me a lesson and I guess that this time it was a lesson about keeping things a bit tidier and being a bit more organised!  Anyway, to cut a long waffle short.  I pieced this:

To give you a bit of an idea, the little red and cream half square triangles measure one inch across.  I know it is not perfect but I am so proud of this block and so glad that 6 years later I can move on!!!

As I sorted through the mess I also found a little dress that I had started for Maddie.  Knowing my reputation for not finishing things in a timely manner I had cut it as a size 4.  I really wish I had known how ridiculously easy this pattern is!  It is "Miss Madeline" by Samantha Coffey thehandmadedress.blogspot.com 

The fabric was picked up on the trading table at Spinners and Weavers for next to nothing.  Now I just have to wait a few years for Maddie to fit into it.

Oh, and just in case you needed a laugh.  Guess what happens when you leave your sewing machine AND scrapbooking supplies unattended?  This was taken post-event when the culprit was made to clean it up and as she scrubbed she kept saying "No! No! No! Ahh, pretty!" and shaking her head and then nodding!!!  She certainly is our little clown and I think at least 3 times as cheeky as her siblings!

Happy Monday!

Keep smiling,

Nell

p.s. Creative Memories Pens are archival quality and won't run, bleed or fade. They are totally waterproof.  My sewing machine is destined to be "Ahh Pretty" for a very long time!

New Inspiration

I've just discovered this new blog treefalldesign.typepad.com and have enjoyed a pleasant half hour of oohing and ahhing over her beautiful children's clothes - I think it is mostly the colour combinations and patterns that I love, and that real sense of yesteryear simplicity.  Whatever it is, Manda McGrory makes making children's clothes look effortless and between her and Toni Coward they have me itching to clean off the scrapping table and get busy sewing for my girls.  WATCH THIS SPACE.

Oh, and I found it interesting that even someone that talented feels funny when they wear clothes they have made themself.  I can totally relate to that (which is one reason why I hardly ever sew for my self!)

I am happily stitching at a farmyard quilt from Alicia Paulson's book (destined for my bestie's 2nd baby) and tonight while I read craft mags in the bath I found the perfect pattern to use my stash of Dr Seuss fabric.  Now the big question is really what to work on next LOL

Tomorrow is The Patchwork Apple's Civil War Exhibition (at the Woodside Institute Hall)  I have seen several of these quilts and they are STUNNING.  Cannot wait to go and drool (and Jane will have the shop set up there too so if she happened to have the new Moda 3 Sisters Etchings in a Jelly Roll it might just have to come home with me)  Oh the possibilities!

Happy weekend!

Weekend Sewing

What a lovely, busy, sewing weekend.  Last holidays my children began their first patchwork projects.  Hannah decided on a quilt for her dolls and Dan began a tablerunner.  It was great to see the projects developing through their eyes.  Hannah, at 7, was more thoughtful and concerned about placement of colour and pattern.  Dan, at 4, just went with what was pleasing to his eye.  When Daniel's runner was pieced we put it on the table and I could see the disappointment in his face.  "It doesn't fit!" he said indignantly.  Clearly, in his mind, he was making a tablecloth, not a runner, so we had to find something to bulk it up a bit!  A thrifted pillowcase (which had been earmarked as jammy bottoms for him but never gotten around to) had just enough fabric to make it big enough.  As we had changed from runner to cloth I then just backed it with some tan coloured leftovers from another quilt backing without worrying about binding or batting.  At 4, instant gratification is a good thing.  My boy was so happy for us all to eat homemade pizza on HIS tablecloth last night!

Now Hannah will be keen to do the quilting on her project.  I had a lovely afternoon with my Apple Piecers Quilty Friends on Saturday and managed to finish the binding on my "It's a Hoot" quilt.  So now it is goodbye "Chooks in Clover"

and hello "It's a Hoot!"

"Chooks in Clover has been our couch quilt from the time Hannah was small.  All of my babies have enjoyed looking at the chooks and flowers and tracing them with their chubby fat fingers.  Not surprisingly, this quilt is now beyond repair - worn out with lots of snuggles and baby spit and impromptu cubby making.  I am donating it to the dog but Maddie keeps dragging it back inside and putting it on the couch again LOL

I am already wondering about the practicality of having a quilt with so much white and light fabrics as our couch quilt?  I think this quilt might quickly migrate to my workshop room as a Mummy only quilt and be replaced by something more practical (which is a shame because it just looks so good on our couch!)

I ducked off for a bit of Mummy time on Sunday and went to the Woodpatch Quilters Exhibition.  Lots of lovely inspiration and I made a start on my Christmas shopping at their trading table too!  I also found a lovely piece of pale purple fabric on the bargain table for $4 and came home and made this:

My version of the ubiquitous apron skirt.  I love the detailing on this doiley - it is beautifully stitched.  Because I used the full length of the fabric there were no messy seams and then I cut a bit off the top, sandwiched the apron edge inbetween the two cut pieces and stitched then turned the top edge over the stitched seam and top stitched so there are no messy raw edges anywhere and it was soooo easy and quick (maybe Dan gets the instant gratification thing from me LOL)  This will be lovely for Hannah in summer with a yellow or green or white tshirt.

So see, a busy weekend!
Next time I'll show you my first ever sock knitted on two circular needles!
Happy Monday,
Keep smiling,
Nell

Upcycling!

I have just recently discovered this blog artsyants.blogspot.com and was excited to learn that they are having an "Upcycling" week.

I really love the idea of repurposing and reusing and quite a lot of my kid's wardrobes are "upcycled" (normally from opshop finds!)  Because I am not particularly good at the finer points of sewing (zips, facings, plackets, etc) I find upcycling a great way of not having to deal with the fiddly bits.

Probably my 2 favourite ways to upcycle are:

1. My girls are both fans of cute strappy summer sundresses (the kind with the ribbon ties on the shoulders and maximum twirl factor skirts)  When they outgrow the top bit, or the dresses get a bit too short, I cut the top bit off, turn over a casing, thread through elastic, and, ta da, one maximum twirl factor skirt and one very happy little girl who gets a few more years out of her favourites!

2.  I look out for adult summer dresses or skirts that can just be taken in at the sides and the sleeves to become lovely dresses for my tall 7 year old. 

The best thing about upcycling is that when the kids rip it, or stain it, or outgrow it, I don't feel like it is the end of the world.  I also LOVE that it is that real something-from-nothing, make-do and mend feeling!

If you are looking for books with an upcycling message I can recommend Amanda Blake Soule's and also "Craft Challenge - Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Pillowcase" - and I really should hunt down some more for inspiration too!

So go on, I dare you, have an upcycling week!

Keep smiling,

Nell

p.s you may have noticed that we are fans of the unironed, slightly wrinkled look LOL but I hope you didn't notice the crumbs on the floor next to the skirt LOL

On the 6th Day of Christmas...

I have been busily making up these sweet little gift bags from http://www.modabakeshop.com/  I am trying to reduce the amount of wrapping paper we use this year so these are perfect for my nieces' presents. They have appliqued t-shirts and I have used some of the same fabric from the appliques so they can use the gift bags as an accesory. The girls have also got sweet little hair accesories from a local crafty mum who has a business called "Unicorns and Fairies" on facebook.

Made up in Christmas fabric these bags are perfect for a little bit of Christmas baking - and I'm thinking they could be easily "themed" into a gardener's bag (with seeds and a trowel), a writer's bag (with nice stationery and stamps), a crafter's bag (now what sort of goodies could be put in there!?) ooh, the ideas are endless; maybe I need to make a few more of them?

Kitchen Chemistry and Mental Health Day

On Monday Maddie and I left the washing, the cleaning, the crumbs and the chaos and went to our friend Nic's house for a spot of crafting!  It was exactly what I needed!  My teaching mentor used to call these kind of days "mental health days" and despite feeling a little guilty about the state of the house it was just so good to be in the company of my crafty friend.

First up was the soap making (you have to make the lye first and then leave it to cool)  As a kid I always wanted a chemistry set for Christmas (but I never got one because my Mum was worried my sister would use it to blow the house up LOL!)  Soap-making is kitchen chemistry at its best.  If you look at all the disparate ingredients you would never imagine that mixing them would make soap!

While we waited for the lye to cool we did a spot of crafting.  Nic worked on some beautiful journal covers and I hemmed hubby's work pants (the guilt factor - I figured 3 trouser alterations gave me a few hours of non-suzie-homemaker time!) and then got cracking on my nephew's quilt.  It is a bit too mustard coloured for my liking but you have gotta love the fact that the only material I bought for it was the backing and the binding (and that was from The Patchwork Apple's $10 rack)

The girls were so good while we were sewing.  I wish I had taken a photo.  Jazz had her own ironing board set up and contentedly "sewed" with some fabric scraps and a small pair of scissors (all the while chattering away to Maddie!)

After lunch we added goat's milk, coconut oil and olive oil to the lye and mixed....and mixed.... and mixed...

Then we added some honey, and poured into silicon moulds.  Nic turned the soaps out and trimmed them a few days later and now we just have to wait about 6 weeks for them to cure.  I found the whole process quite fascinating and I am thinking that the soaps would be a lovely gift with a nice hand-knitted cotton/bamboo face washer.  I'm also thinking that we could play with the recipe to use some of the lavender from my garden (mmm...lavender and honey!)

Thanks Nic for a wonderful day (hoping we have plenty more like it in the new year!)