tsk tsk

meet frankie

one little project that I've been wanting to finish for ages is this little bird. Meet Frankie. He lives outside so I made him a scarf for the fresh winter nights. I've admired some other bird softies for quite sometime, so couldn't resist giving it a go too!

amy butler to the rescue

a quick, last minute dash to the fabric store today. While away I've asked my mother-in-law to recover the kitchen chairs for us. That is 4 years of kid grot you see on the old one. Spilt milk, pasta sauce, sticky fingers.. I had to see what they were going to look like. I chose an Amy Butler design. let's see how long it will stay clean for!

And whilst there I bought some new thread...because I needed to restock.....

and also grabbed these fat quarters. This is from the urban chicks range, called swell. Haven't a bloody clue what I am going to do with it, but fell in love with it! Now I really need to stop procrastinating.

nothing but blue skies from now on

We are relaxing and enjoying a long weekend here at home. Just us, hanging out and getting ready for a really big week of new journeys. On Tuesday Miss M starts her first day at kindy and then on Wednesday Mr A starts his very first day of school. I somehow feel more anxious about Miss M starting kindy than Mr A starting school. Probably because she is the youngest, and like all milestones, crawling, walking etc, I don't want them to happen just yet.

Maybe it is also because Mr A hasn't worn his uniform fully yet. Maybe it is because he himself doesn't seem to be excited and yet he doesn't seem to be scared or worried. I think he has inherited his father's nonchalant outlook on life.  Maybe it is because I am confident that he will be just fine and enjoy going.

So I spent this morning making him a cushion cover as part of his school list requirements...well having one, not necessarily making one.

Meanwhile, there is carrot cake to be made...Oh yes I am attempting to bake a little more now that I will have more lunch boxes to fill. Laundry and building that website is in order too!

mini bunting

OK, this is a far more positive post. Simple and short too. I have decided to make some mini bunting this year for decorations. The Christmas fabric just hasn't appealed to me this year, so I opted for a Japanese alternative. I also have used a red felt. A fun and simple way to make something festive for your home. To help keep the triangles the same shape and size, I bought a triangular template made from perspex...super easy.

man eating moths

nothing much happening here in the way of new craft or art. Thanks all for your comments re my last post. We are getting better, but I still have a voice of an 80 year old who has smoked a pack of cigarettes a day all her life.
A few months ago I bought this fabric to make Miss M a dress and had every intention of doing it myself. But I just couldn't get myself in that frame of mind, so I handed it to my mum and viola, it arrived in the mail today. Along with jelly beans and stickers. thanks mum. She really likes it, except she isn't so sure about the large moth just near her. "will it bite me mum?" This explains the look of uncertainty on her face.

bon voyage

my sister and her partner are going to India for 3 months on Monday. Today we are going to have lunch with them and say our farewells. I don't see them that often, but now it seems strange that I won't see them at all until next year. I wanted to give her something to take. But what do you give someone who is backpacking? I quickly, and I mean quickly, made this scarf for her. And some tiny photos of the kids. One side shows them with their nice smiles and on the other they have on their cheeky faces, in case she gets a little home sick.

next dimension stage 2

I just wanted to say thank you to all those who commented on my dolls and emailed with some very very useful tips. I am at the next stage of development and really feel that I am getting the softie/plush whatever you want to call it, making process to a point where I am happy with my results. I now want to make these dolls stand up. The smallest one is, but the sewing was completed by hand and I need now to work on this part. Don't you love the fabric that I have used. It is a Kiku Japanese fabric, which has also made me start to to love kokeshi dolls. I'm now afraid I'm turning into one of those odd collectable types of people whose house will be filled with small dust collectors!

I have also created some new greeting cards that are in the shop, and because I am in the red and black mode at the moment I have almost completed the painting of some wooden dolls which will be also for sale. This will be a set of 5.

So, dinner is burning and I really must go.

the next dimension

My poor eyes are bloodshot and I have more sties in them. (an ongoing scenario with me) So I pulled out some fabric and started sewing to give them a little break from the computer screen. A good night sleep would probably also help. Sticking to my matryoshka craze I thought I'd try my hand at creating them with fabric. But I just can't get the shapes right. These two girls were fun to make, but I think I need to spend more time on getting a smoother outer shape. I have a lead foot when it comes to sewing, so perhaps I need to slow down around those corners. The one on the left has an apron and the other has more freestyle sewing and felt punching. Maybe I need to try something in this theme in this style instead.

Keeping warm

I plan on sitting indoors this weekend, drinking, eating and sewing. Winter winds are ever present. We are driving up to the hinterland  to enjoy some Granny and Pa time. This will keep me occupied whilst I sip some wine and help keep my neck warm if I do venture out for an afternoon stroll.

new dress

If you are reading this for the second time you may have seen that I have deleted some previous comments to help reduce the amount of scum visitng my site. A Google search in my stats showed up and  I wasn't very happy with it, so I deleted the comments with key words in them to hopefully not allow this to happen again.

I did it! I made my first dress. It has yet to survive a machine wash, and there is much puckering to be seen...but I've done it. (Do you hear the trumpets tooting loudly?) I may even do another one...maybe in a woolen blend?? Now all I have to do is get her out of it before dinner time. The front right patch was the extra addition after my snipping incident.