Wednesday, May 30, 2012

relocated

spent the last two consecutive
sunday afternoons/early evenings
sorting
stacking
storing
moving
relocating
my sewing space
when we moved in
we set my sewing space up in the same room as our 'study'
while i love having the computer right there as a resource
its tricky as i do tend to take over 
& apparently my husband would like to have his own desk!? huh?
so apart from the fact that more than half of the 'new' sewing room
is still a storage locker for all the arty stuff that will hopefully one day move into a studio
yep - you heard right i 'need' a sewing room & a studio!
well this afternoon i used said janome in the new space & its working nicely
the space that is .... my janome needs a service!!

so i have a deadline this week
blog worthy photos of my SIT swap items
they will be ready!
as I made a start & got halfway!!
i'll tell you more about these when i'm finished ... soon!
so essentially 2 works in progress today

NB- fabric stash you can see .... not even a 1/4 of it ... will need to be relocated
another time ....

four candles on a castle cake!

so the little man in our house
turned 4 on saturday
still can't believe he is even ours
& we love him so very much
celebrated with a party theme of
castles
knights
& dragons
the noble princesses, knights & squires whom
he 'plays with' joined our celebratory crusade
courtly attire was requested
the champions prepared
the banners were sewn & hung ... 7 of them!
the bunting flags were flying inside & out
the tournament was arranged
there was knightly quest for great treasure
trumpets heralded
crowns were decorated
 shields were created & foil covered
musical 'thrones' was played
(& no one missed out!)
we didn't have a round table but
we did play with a round parachute!
ring a ring a rosie was danced!
(after all its supposed to be about the black plague hey!)
&
the celebration banquet feast was prepared
including ginger bread crowns
decorated by the princely dragon himself
& little shields in the red & white of St George!
 one little dragon was 
very
very
excited ....
a castle cake was requested
& so it was done
loved making it
 components .... many many tim tams
malteasers, two types of chocolate cakes
a gingerbread draw bridge
icey blue jelly, 16 lego mini figures knights
& one green dragon
 his dragon costume
hoodie idea found somewhere on google images
can't find the original blog i spotted it on
my variation was to lightly stuff
the spikes
&
love it so much
knew the moment i set my eyes on it
i had to make one ...
wish we had the snow to pose in!!
which i've again made a variation on
... stuffing the spikes ...
& now of course it is completely 
a dragon's tail hey!
we missed you Roma & KPa
but glad you were doing castle-y things too!

did you see the Happy Birthday Oscar
banner ?? I made this for his first birthday
& each year I make the appropriate number tag to insert!
had to use some of the fabric from his dragon costume for the 4th!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

giveaway with sew mama sew

i haven't done a giveaway for ages
so its about time
& i love checking out all the other goodies
creative minds come up with
crossing my fingers i might have some good fortune too!
here's a sweet A5 sized fabric covered notebook
with a crochet circle embellishment on the front cover
all made by me ... i have more....
this giveaway is open for Australian residents only
so sorry no OS shipping on this one
(worldwide one is below .... keep reading)
just leave me a comment saying "notebook"
& an idea of what you'd use it for
a random comment will receive this 
one of a kind treasure

 this is a very cute set of 12 mini sized
bunting flags with an elephant print
just the right length to run along a window or wall to decorate 
a child's bedroom either gender
made by me of course!
just leave me a comment saying "bunting"
& where you'd hang these cuties
welcome to anyone from anywhere worldwide
so yep i will ship this gift internationally
winner will be randomly chosen
Aussies - you are more than welcome to enter both giveaways!!
lots more giveaways to join in over here 

edit - comments are now closed!
winner will be drawn soon ... 
thanks for playing
its been great to meet you!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

setting up

so above & below
pics from my 'in house' market viewing eve
set up in my living room
enjoyed the luxury of having 4 stands set up & spreading out!
also Sat just gone... T&T@Trinity
loving the support people are giving me
come a long way in the last nearly 12 months
of going about some markets
the handmade scene is close to my heart

Sunday, May 13, 2012

little peaces went to market

last few weeks
i've been to market with my goodies
range has now expanded to include
little brag book fabric covered photo albums
more covered notebooks with modern fabrics
travel tissue pouches
more to come soon too!

Treasures & Tastes @ Trinity on April 21
my goodies center knee height shelving  
Canterbury PS Gift Shop
Annual Art Show
last weekend
& this weekend
at the East Doncaster Baptist Church
Craft Market
i've been asked about joining in a couple of interesting crafty ventures
.... June last year was my first true handmade market
here i am almost a year later
i've learned lots & think i've got something good a happening
thanks for all your support!
see other market dates in the right margin

thoughts

i've heard this mentioned in different contexts over time

i like it

it makes sense to me

be kind to yourself & mind your soul ...

live with integrity

 

“Mind your thoughts, 

for they become your words.

Mind your words, 

for they become your actions.

Mind your actions, 

for they become your habits.

Mind your habits, 

for they become your character.

Mind your character, 

for it becomes your destiny.”

 

not sure who wrote it or where it came from

Saturday, May 12, 2012

celebrate the oops!


thankyou Barney Saltzberg

because a scrap of paper

a smudge and a smear
can make magic appear

loving it ...

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

i can knit!

 sat with a great group of crafty girls the other eve
i was the exception to the yarn rule
as they were all using yarn in some way
learning to knit a scarf
an elaborate jumper
& there i was sewing ...
it got me thinking about some unfinished knitting projects
i learnt how to knit a long time ago
my mum taught me ... my first project was a bright
red, blue, yellow & green chunky striped
jumper for my snoopy!
made in one piece with the rows running vertically
& sewn together under the arms etc
not sure how old i was but i was in primary school
added a few stitches as i went so it was a little curvy!
... it has 'character'!
still does as i still have it!
now & then over the past 4 years
i have made Oscar a few things
above is one project i pulled out when i got home on the other night!
its been in limbo with the back half made for a year or so ....
.... thought it was too small but no ...
sizing will be good!
so i got on to the yarn wagon again
& have made some progress
back is finished & the front started
will be a simple v neck jumper
& yes, i need a pattern for this!
other stuff i make up but not knitting ....
so joining in here
since this is a work in progress
here's Oscar in a little bamboo vest
again a V neck!
i loved this on him
 below is a pic my 2 boys
riding the little train in Eltham that runs on Sunday afternoons
we still love that train
this was our first ride
i sat backwards & took photos!!
Oscar in his purple jumper
("purple" Oscar)
think he's about 2 months off turning 2 here
had raglan sleeves with a little roll neck
i made a soft green one too but it is still too 
large & is yet to be worn
 my nanna & my mum
were both great knitters
nanna was knitting right up to her last days
this is Oscar in a specially treasured
little cardigan jacket made by her
she was gone before she knew we were to even have
our baby boy but i figure she'd be wrapped to have
given him a cuddle in this!
so as an ode to the generations of knitters before us
keeping on with tradition
... knit, purl, cast on, cast off!
enJOY your journey
.... added edit:

here i am ...
wearing something that my nanna must have knitted!!
40 years ago ...



Monday, May 7, 2012

markings in the sand

 
 spent 24 hours at a beach hideaway 
which is fast becoming
a favourite spot
went for a crisp wintry walk along
the Ocean Grove Surf Beach
rugged up
got to love it when you nearly have the beach all to yourselves
that chilled cheeks feeling
perfect conditions for gum boots
watched the kite surfer
avoided the weird looking little blue jelly fish all along the water's edge
&
went spotting marks & footprints 
in the sand
there were parallel lines
hmm what could they be?
doggy foot prints
in varying sizes
weird flipper shapes
 & then the nearly 4 year old
'needed' i quote
to dig ... 
the whole sand under finger nails type of digging
was a lovely time
lucky we have 
antarctic weather conditions coats at our convenience!

thrifty finds

you know by now
i have a great love for all
if you've never really squished your fingers through clay
... then  you must!
our tactile sense is often ignored & really
it is just as important to enrich as the others ...
some finds ...
 clay made with a quirky, organic approach to 
being useful as well as lovely to look at & to hold
i like things a little left of centre ...
the tea pot below was not a thrifty find
(cherished treasure brought home from japan)
but hey the little cup & saucer goes so nicely with it
some books
classics ...
nothing like a little Dr Seuss in life
favourite about this place at the moment
& a reference book from my past
as i flicked through the pages when i picked this one up the other day
the images were as familiar as they were when i was 7!
oh & a few pieces of 'someones' favourite 
mikasa set ... always on the look out!
joining in with the 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

new blog about the Playful Market

last year a few friends & i made a little market/fair happen
with the help of our Church family

it's happening again
& i'm now in organization mode
Saturday 28th July
Saturday 8th December
& I'm really excited
i've just created a Playful Market blog 
so you can follow along over there
but it will probably still be mentioned here too
if you went last year
can you do me a favour
go over there
& write a little note about what it was like
ta