bag it

Not so much a creative space as a creative effort, because, although I am a design professional, I can't call my workplace particularly creative at all.

Sadly I have gone to the dark side and become a better paid bureaucrat.

For now my creative outlet is a little crafty activity - like my new bag, finished last night and proudly paraded today.

A Nicole Mallalieu design and the second version I have made.

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we had a most wonderful holiday

There was bushwalking, kayaking, swimming,
treasure hunting, rock hopping,
sewing, lego creations, reading, snuggling, baking,
knitting and drawing.

And,of course, there was a toy society drop to arrange.

But rather than just making one little owl for the drop everyone had to have one to keep too! Everyone got busy,especially mothers.

Can you guess which one belongs to the pirate?

The cute one on the right was our drop. We left little owl outside the Currarong shops at the end of the holiday. I wonder who found him.

getting by

I posted recently on the virtues of frugal comfort. This fortnight some things popped up which meant my income dropped by 30% and I suddenly found I had live totally by those ideals.

The really frightening thing is that it has been possible. I couldn't sustain it for a long time, cause that means not enough wine!, but I could definitely manage it much more often than I have been.

And it has come at one of my peak birthday gift times. Which is rather good as it has given me the opportunity to practice my handmade pledge using all kinds of things from the stash.



firstly I made the pinni for Edie



Then the 2 days, which turned into 2 week, scarf for Jo

and yesterday the handwarmers for Karen

And now for the details.

The Pinni is taken from the wonderful 'Absolutetly A-line' book. It is a little shorter than planned, which happens when you are using left overs.

The scarf for Jo was knitted using Cascade Heritage Yarns -a totally divine soft yarn.
The pattern is a simple one I made up. I like the body of it, but the edges are very wonky, even after blocking, and it hasn't held any shape at all. In fact blocking for two days seems to have been a complete waste of time. But having said that I think it will be lovely to wear.

The pattern is
1st row k*yo, k2tog* repeat to end
2nd row Purl
continue with row one and two till it is long enough. Though I threw in an additional purl row a couple of repeats in at either end for effect. I am wondering if I had a k2 at either end I might have ended up with something more stable, or if I had used smaller needles, or....? Any suggestions are very welcome.

Finally the handwarmers are the easiest thing I have ever made and look totally lovely. They are made from Bendigo Rustic 8 ply in Red Currant - an old favourite. Pattern can be found here.

I really want to make so many more things than handwarmers to comfort my lovely sister. I may have mentioned before she has MS. This week she found out that it is worsening even with the wonder drugs she has been on. So now her only option for keeping or improving her mobility, and keeping out of a wheelchair in the next short while, is a bone marrow transplant. We are all scared. I have this need to make her shawls and wraps and things to snuggle into. I would love some suggestions for easy but beautiful ones I can complete in weeks rather than months.

green

Despite coming from a very enthusiastic quilting family I have rather avoided the whole quilting thing. I had really wanted to be doing something different and my own.

But the quilting bug has finally got me and I have all kinds of plans.

I wanted to start out small. I wanted to make a green quilt for throwing over my shoulders when doing my meditation. It needed to be uber soft and snuggly, with a great drape. I didn't want it too look at all formal - it needed to be a scrap quilt. And very simple.


I used a raft of green fabrics in the stash, including an old favourite sheet.

You may notice it looks rather rough or maybe 'rustic', or possibly even saggy. I went with a different approach than standard wadding and backing. I have a couple of old chenille bedspreads lying about which I haven't used in years. They are so beautiful I can't bear to part with them. I decided to use one to back this little quilt. I held my breath as I cut the chenille - terrified I would regret this waste of a lovely bedspread.


I love the result, even if it is saggy. It feels magnificently cosy.

Though before I embark on a 'real' quilt that would make my mum proud my basting needs to improve an awful lot and I really do need to learn to sew a straight line.

frugal comfort

I once heard an expression of a way to live. It was about the past but it is something I aspire to. Frugal comfort. Now we would call it a sustainable lifestyle. For me it comes with images of warm fires, wholesome simple meals, friends, family, home and, especially, making do.

In the spirit of frugal comfort I have been on an unofficial and rather healthy break from buying sewing supplies. This has meant working through the stash of fabric and finishing off some long overdue projects, instead of spending all my spare time and and money shopping for supplies and not actually getting to the projects themselves. The pile of fabric is going down. It is a nice thing to behold.

So what have I been making? this past couple of weeks a bag for a gift from a felted opp shop jumper. I love making things from felted jumpers, but the right ones are very hard to come by.

And my new favourite cord pants, in what has become my favourite pants pattern. The cord has been hanging about for years waiting for me to get to it. I love the wide legs and making use of scraps of other fabric as a contrast (which was not only nice but necessary when I didn't have enough red cord). I have had them only 2 weeks and worn them just about all weekend for both weeks.

Now I am onto my first quilt using an old sheet, stash fabric and a vintage chenille bedspread. More on that later.

And about the scarf. I was still sick and didn't make it to Sydney, developed knitter's forearm and took a break. I am still only about 30% done, shamefully. Luckily I have a couple of weeks before the next visit to finish it off.

icase

I am working on being much more diligent this year with the handmade pledge and gifting. This month is a busy one with both of my nieces having birthdays.

The first is the lovely Anouk who has just turned 8. I love that she appreciates a handmade gift so much. I love that she gets it and treasures it more than some piece of plastic all new and shiny. This birthday I pondered what to make for some time and finally settled on a case for her iPod.

It is made from a felted op shop jumper, wool felt bought at the stitches and craft fair last year and a piece of fabric hanging about. I love that it didn't cost me a cent to make and that it turned out rather well if you ignore my inability to stitch neatly.

big girl's blouse no 1

As part of March Big Girl's Blouse month I have, indeed, made a blouse of sorts.


It isn't too bad really. I made up the pattern from another sleeveless shirt I have that I really like. I made up the sleeves altogether, and to my utter surprise they worked! The top did require a little pinning and trimming whilst trying it on but otherwise was relatively painless. I even made my own bias so I am feeling a little smug right now.

It is a little exposing in the boobage area and does sit a little strange down the front. But as a first go I would say it could be called successful. My next challenge is to adjust the pattern of a buttoned shirt. I am not sure I can fudge that so well.

big girls

Over at my fellow brown owl's place is an offer too good to refuse.

I have avoided making tops. Being a woman of generous proportions I have been too timid and unsure to start making major changes to patterns and the shapless larger tops just look awful on me. I have always intended to get around to making a top to fit - and even have one cut out to try that I mocked up from an existing top I have. But the whole process of carefully calculating and adjusting needs the kind of uninterupted day I just don't get.


A little incentive and moral support may just change all of that.

creative space

I recently went to a party. It was a very unusual event for me.

It was fancy dress - I would have said I hated fancy dress but I made a decision to just go with it. And several hours before the event I finally decided on a costume. Obi-wan.

In what will seem a theme, I made the costume at a friends house while we were there for a leisurely lunch. As soon as work started I had 5 small boys all playing starwars around and on the sewing machine with little figures. The excitement was palpable and I must say there is little better way to impress a 6 year old son than to decide to be a jedi. way cool.

The costume wasn't bad. The party was fabulous. I crawled into bed at 3.30 in the morning.

At 6am the pirate woke me. He NEEEeeeeDED to get that costume on.


Given all the interest I decided that Jedi cloaks should be the christmas present this year, so when the pirate and I were invited back to visit the first mate on the weekend it had to be on the condition of taking the sewing.

Again I took over a friends dining table for the jedi cause.


and because sewing lots of brown poplin on a hot day does get tedious I had a little support.



6 down and 2 to go.

pfing

I love my new Pfaff.

Love it. Love it. Love it.

After seeing them at the Sydney Stitches and Craft Fair I ordered a bag pattern from Nicole Mallalieu Design.

My Pfaff and I made one for a friend.

She liked it.

what a weekend

My lordy I had a busy and productive weekend.

We had the first mate and family here and lots of pirate action. The pirate was in character almost all weekend practicing his Jack Sparrow mannerisms except when we went to the markets when the pirate and first mate were star wars characters in their capes. I wish this dressing up would never end. It is magnificent.

We had the kind of weather that just makes you want to be outside in the garden. I finally built a vegie garden.

I mowed the knee deep back lawn, extended the chicken run, weeded weeded and weeded.

I got to play with my new toy - and yes I was all a quiver!

The clothkit dress for my niece. Cute isn't it?

A couple of little sacks - one for the lovely woman who sold me the machine. The other for ???

And on top of that I knitted, cooked a dinner party for 8 adults and 7 children, did all my washing, collected straw and chook food from the produce store, cleaned eggs, socialised, and, and..... I am way to tired to go to work today!

pfing

On my way to the mountains last week I detoured to Sydney to my sister's house. It was not just for the company, thai food, wine and Canasta games late into the night.

It was a carefully executed plan all for me to pick something up that has been on lay-by for months. ta-daaa.....

The logistics were something else. I put the machine on lay-by through a friend of my mothers who happened to be filling in at a sewing shop in Newcastle. I made regular payments over the phone. Last week knowing I was going to be within spitting distance of Sydney, everything was put in place for the delivery. My mother's friend had the machine transferred to the Maitland shop, where she usually worked, early in the week. Payday came Thursday and I made the final payment to the Newcastle shop. The call was made to my mothers friend to let her know it was OK to take the machine home, where my mother collected it Thursday night, lovingly strapped it into a seatbelt and brought it down to Sydney after work Friday. Thanks Mum.

Thanks to my family who all put something towards it for my birthday.

The stash diet will now be very hard to stick to! Now I am off to use it for the very very first time. I will let you know how it goes.

take a jumper

First you find an old jumper at a local op shop

then you throw it in the washing machine on a hot wash

Next you cut the arms off the now felted jumper and sew up the base and neck

and finally add a little something cute

and what do you get?

what next in my creative space?

This week my creative space is still, except for knitting of course. I have about a million sewing projects I want to start right now. But I am spinning in circles trying to decide which way to go.

Will it be the purchase from this site ? When I came across it I immediately rang my sister - the one with more income than me and a very cute 2 yr old girl - I had to get my hands on this and I knew she would love it and happily indulge me so I could indulge her daughter. The kit arrived yesterday. I would show the really really cute packaging ..... but I didn't stop long enough to take a photo.


Will it be the Day Bag for my friend, using some blue corduroy and some fabric I picked up in Melbourne?


or a bag from the felted op shop jumper hanging on the line?

or perhaps a cute softie from tthe softies book the girl across the street just got for her birthday and we are all so excited about,

or more pants for the pirate - like these ones, which I am told are 'to weird to wear mum'

or, or, or ?

tales of seduction part 4 - a creative space

I am enthralled by skirts.

After thinking I might never wear the cute one I made recently, with your encouragement, I did.

It felt very fine.

so I made another -to a slightly different pattern, one I made up myself.


I am not sure how far this will take me, but I am enjoying the ride for now.

Not sure where to begin

I went to Sydney this weekend - a visit to the Stitches and Craft show dovetailed nicely with handing on some extra children I have been responsible for for a few days -and visiting my sister.


I was at that show for 6 hours! (you can tell I was without the pirate)

I was so completely shattered by the end and even champagne could not revive me.

The good news is it was nice to see some wonderful fabrics in the flesh and some clever crafty people flogging their wares. But, it was a very disappointing turn out for the knitters - only 1 stall selling yummy yarn not available at one of the local shops.

They did have these great drop in spaces where you could learn a skill or just join in. I knitted a cup cosy thingy at the knitting drop in and had a lovely chat to some ladies from the knitters guild. The cup cosy was great timing as my sister has those latte cups that will burn your skin clean off if you don't have a buffer of some type, as I discovered that morning. Knitted cup thingys are so much more sexy than a paper towel.



But the most fun was meeting the famous ric rac , having a big belly laugh in her talk on blogging, and getting up close with those cute bots. Jodie had some notes up for the talk and I could see the name of my wee blog up on them. Big breath......Eek, - I really hoped this would turn out to be a good thing, wondering what on earth she was going to say. And it was in the context of a community you meet through blogging and how complete strangers can be supportive - so all good, and fun. And don't we all love a bit of good attention? So thank you Jodie - you made my day, and I promise to do a post on my avatar to put it into context and show it is not me wearing scary scary make up!

I came home with a cold, less money in the bank - and some things to show off next time.

my creative space

I moved out of the 'master' bedroom some time ago. It has a much better purpose as the sewing-study-craft-guest-junk-ironing room than a sleeping space. It has a huge north facing window - which over looks the front yard. This is good for two reasons - I can keep up with everything happening in my street, like the neighbourhood busy body, and can keep an eye on the pirate and first mate playing in our lovely front yard while I sew.

The sun comes in and a skirt is on the machine. It is a good day.

For more creative spaces check out this.

tales of seduction part 3

I have been buying books - like this



Now I need more time to make things.

like this



I have the perfect old velvet curtain I picked up at an op shop a hundred years ago

and this



This may leave you with a mental image you don't need - but I have a big head. I usually can't get hats to fit. The ability to make a cute cloth hat that fits my head without inflicting pain fills me with happy thoughts.

and so the seduction continues.

My creative space

I'm new to this game.

it looks like fun - I love popping around and seeing what all those clever women out there are up to.

Tales of Seduction Part 2.

My creative space is given over to quilting after a 25 year absence - makes me seem old a very early starter. All those new books on craft and quilting have me lusting after projects. Then I discovered Addicted to Fabric. Love.




For more creative spaces visit the very crafty Kootoyoo.

tales of seduction, or folly, part 1

they are everywhere

beautiful

easy to make

fun

I couldn't help myself

I had to try one out



But, I don't wear skirts. I thought I could get past that. I suspect I won't ever wear it out.

oops