Some corduroy messenger style bags that are going into the shop.
Decisions, decisions. What to start next. I promised myself that if I finished a pair of socks I can cast on something else. From left there is Socks that Rock, Vesper and Sundara.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Bags and Yarn
I have 5 minutes to write while everyone else is playing Wii, which I am sure will end in tears in a second.
Some corduroy messenger style bags that are going into the shop.
Decisions, decisions. What to start next. I promised myself that if I finished a pair of socks I can cast on something else. From left there is Socks that Rock, Vesper and Sundara.
Some corduroy messenger style bags that are going into the shop.
Decisions, decisions. What to start next. I promised myself that if I finished a pair of socks I can cast on something else. From left there is Socks that Rock, Vesper and Sundara.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Holiday
We are back from a few days away. There was a bit of shell collecting and even a bit of swimming one day.
Some bike riding.
Marshmallow eating.
Quite a bit of it by one person. Must remember to never leave the packet unattended with Evie around.
Some bike riding.
Marshmallow eating.Quite a bit of it by one person. Must remember to never leave the packet unattended with Evie around.Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins
2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
approx 100g melted butter
approx 1/2 cup natural yoghurt (use good stuff - I like the premium natural from Mundella)
approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
approx 1/2 white choc chips
approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen raspberries.
Mix and cook at 180 degrees C for approx 20 minutes.
Yes a lot of approximate measurements because I didn't measure any of these things, just threw in the amount that looked right. They turned out quite tasty. Well I didn't hear any complaining from the little people and that is usually a good thing.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Shop Update
The real estate agent took pictures of the house yesterday - it was the cleanest it has ever been. I wish I could say the same for this morning, toys and quilts covering the floor again.
I am slowly adding these little fellas and some elephants to the shop.
I am slowly adding these little fellas and some elephants to the shop.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Colour
A very slow week here. I thought we'd had the final cold for the year, but it turns out there was one more which the girls have recovered from, but mine has turned into a nasty chest infection. Lucky the DVD of Project Runway Season 5 turned up in the mail.
Yesterday I sat and watched and finished the binding on this quilt which to me is like seeing a spring garden through a frosted window. I think if there was Project Runway for quilts Michael and Nina might say it looks like I vomited colour and fabric and failed to edit and maybe my taste was questionable. I would be one of those very self assured designers that refuses to listen to the experts and sticks to my guns because I love it and they just don't understand me as a designer.
I am wrapped up in it now because there is nothing that makes me happier when it is cold and rainy and I don't feel great than a big vomit of colour.
Corrie is having a pattern and fabric giveaway! Go over and have a look!
Yesterday I sat and watched and finished the binding on this quilt which to me is like seeing a spring garden through a frosted window. I think if there was Project Runway for quilts Michael and Nina might say it looks like I vomited colour and fabric and failed to edit and maybe my taste was questionable. I would be one of those very self assured designers that refuses to listen to the experts and sticks to my guns because I love it and they just don't understand me as a designer.
I am wrapped up in it now because there is nothing that makes me happier when it is cold and rainy and I don't feel great than a big vomit of colour.
Corrie is having a pattern and fabric giveaway! Go over and have a look!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Paper Necklaces
I often see great activities to do with the girls when I am blog surfing. Then I usually forget all about them, but yesterday when it was once again rainy and cold outside I remembered seeing necklaces made from punched shapes. I have no idea where I saw it so I can't give a link or give credit (if you know, let me know and I will link to it).
The girls punched a lot of different flower shapes out of pretty paper and then I sewed them in a long line and joined them at the end. Instant necklace and surprisingly they are stonger than I thought they would be.
The girls punched a lot of different flower shapes out of pretty paper and then I sewed them in a long line and joined them at the end. Instant necklace and surprisingly they are stonger than I thought they would be.
Retro Mummy is now stocking my patterns!! Go have a look at all the lovely fabric that Corrie has!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Multi-tasking
A bad case of second sock syndrome. This explains why I have been knitting all winter and have no new socks to wear.
I had some time to play with my new sewing machine yesterday. So there was a little piecing.
And there was a little quilting.
I had some time to play with my new sewing machine yesterday. So there was a little piecing.
And there was a little quilting.Some may say I have a small attention span. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Carrot Cake
Kind of carrot cake, kind of lumberjack cake. Whatever you call it, it is totally delicious and my kind of cooking - dump all the ingredients into a bowl, mix and cook.
2 cups SR flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup grated carrot
3 eggs
¾ cup oil
Vanilla
½ 450g tin crushed pineapple and juice
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Bake at 180° for 70 minutes.
Topping
125g cream cheese
60g butter
1 tsp grated lemon
1 ½ cups icing sugar
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Imagination
According to the girls there is one thing better than a new sewing machine and that is a sewing machine box. This box has been a plane, a bear house, a train and a doll's house and much more. It has been drawn on, thing stuck on it and the girls have played with it for hours.
I am sure I have quoted Hundertwasser before - Our illiteracy is our inability to create - and I would also add that our illiteracy is our inability to imagine. Sometimes I just wish for a clean tidy house. One where I won't break my leg just getting through the living room, but I try to remember that play is good and children creating and acting out stories is a good thing and much more important than a tidy and quiet house.
I am sure I have quoted Hundertwasser before - Our illiteracy is our inability to create - and I would also add that our illiteracy is our inability to imagine. Sometimes I just wish for a clean tidy house. One where I won't break my leg just getting through the living room, but I try to remember that play is good and children creating and acting out stories is a good thing and much more important than a tidy and quiet house.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
The Winner is .....
My bleaching experiement turned into this lovely bright cushion. Already claimed by the girls and somewhere in a cubby house.
Bleaching and Sewing
Malka of Stitch In Dye does amazing things with bleaching and overdyeing and I thought I would finally have a go at bleaching some fabric. I bit splotchy in parts, but it seemed to work.
A little bit of sewing.
On this. Yes Chris you can definitely have the title of Husband of the Year.
Happy Fathers Day to you. xxx
A little bit of sewing.
On this. Yes Chris you can definitely have the title of Husband of the Year.
Happy Fathers Day to you. xxxThursday, September 03, 2009
Giveaway
Mr Banshee says thanks for all the lovely comments on his guest post!
I say you have no idea what you have unleashed. I have heard him wondering around muttering things like witty... supportive...fantasic and something about husband of the year.
I have found some great fabric at Textile Traders in the past year so I thought I would share it with you. Some are fat quarters, some are approx 20cm cuts and the one at the back is about 60cm.
The rules are
1. Leave a comment before Sunday about 6 pm Western Australian time.
That is it. Very simple. Yes I will post anywhere.
I say you have no idea what you have unleashed. I have heard him wondering around muttering things like witty... supportive...fantasic and something about husband of the year.
I have found some great fabric at Textile Traders in the past year so I thought I would share it with you. Some are fat quarters, some are approx 20cm cuts and the one at the back is about 60cm.
The rules are
1. Leave a comment before Sunday about 6 pm Western Australian time.
That is it. Very simple. Yes I will post anywhere.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Guest Post - Mr Banshee
Mr Banshee Shares His Thoughts…
The Sydney Stitches and Craft Show was an interesting few days, which has led to me writing my thoughts. It was the first time Kate had run a stall at a big show like this, so a bit of a learning experience for both of us. Lots of lovely people that we met, several of whom amazed, surprised and/or impressed me. The reason I’m writing this is that the Selvedge Sisters –Jodie and Annie (absolutely classic ladies) tag teamed and bullied me into agreeing to write a male perspective of the whole show. So let me start by unloading on them…
The one session that I attended intentionally and really enjoyed was Jodie’s Sunday session on blogging and how she started the blogging process. Some good laughs and she outlined her challenges, blog etiquette and a few cracker stories. Oh and she makes some pretty impressive stuff too – check out the selvedge umbrella, chair and a very funky dress. Throughout the session I think she had to contribute to the swear jar around $5 – one dollar for swearing and $4 for calling me craft-tarded. Later on we chatted while she was waiting for Annie (who was spending the national GDP of a small African country on various fabric). Like all hobbies and occupations there is a meta-language that exists in the craft world. I suggested to Jodie (and the rest of the craft blogging world) that maybe the other end of the continuum to craft-tarded should be craft-tastic.
I was lucky enough through my periods of Sluggo-sitting to chat to several stall holders – Louise + Cathy from Audrey and Maude, Belinda from Tutti Frutti, Fi from Dear Fii, Helen and Nic from The Stencil Gallery, Justine from Mixtape and Lisa from The Red Thread and many others. Everyone had amazing designs (even from an art and craft philistine like myself) and there were so many different yet quality products. Quite a few of the Incubatorettes were obviously multi-tasking champions (Sorry – I’m a bloke who still is amazed by this) who were either knitting, stitching, cutting, making, creating a little something whilst running the stall and chatting to either customers or neighbouring stall holders. I needed to have a Bex and good lie down just watching them operate. One of the above mentioned ladies (with 5 kids of her own) gets absolutely no gold stars for her suggestion, after seeing Sluggo, that Kate and I need to work on adding some more cute kids to our brood (and yes I’ll contribute to the swear jar!).
Good move having the kids Crayola section – a gold star from me to the organisers. However, they could have got 27 more stars by maybe considering a small bloke’s section – with some chairs & tables, sport tvs or radio, magazines, papers, bar facilities, all just slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the show. Remember that happy hubby = more chance of you staying at the show = spending lots in the Incubator section.
Ms Banshee obviously needed a break here and there so I took over running the stall while she ate, shopped and chatted to others. I’ve never worked in a retail job before so it was a little weird seeing people look at me funny as I stood in front of the quilts, toys, bags, patterns and yarn with a half completed sock knitted on the table. “Surely he couldn’t have made all that?” Correct. Still - Millions of gold stars to the lady who stood there and said to her partner “Wow – look at the great work this guy’s doing on that sock”. Made my day! It was actually quite cool being able to see the variety of people come through and chat, and even better when those who found out I knew little about the craft stuff still continued to chat and even more so those who actually bought something from me at the stall.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to say hi and maybe I’ll see you in Melbourne next year!
The Sydney Stitches and Craft Show was an interesting few days, which has led to me writing my thoughts. It was the first time Kate had run a stall at a big show like this, so a bit of a learning experience for both of us. Lots of lovely people that we met, several of whom amazed, surprised and/or impressed me. The reason I’m writing this is that the Selvedge Sisters –Jodie and Annie (absolutely classic ladies) tag teamed and bullied me into agreeing to write a male perspective of the whole show. So let me start by unloading on them…
The one session that I attended intentionally and really enjoyed was Jodie’s Sunday session on blogging and how she started the blogging process. Some good laughs and she outlined her challenges, blog etiquette and a few cracker stories. Oh and she makes some pretty impressive stuff too – check out the selvedge umbrella, chair and a very funky dress. Throughout the session I think she had to contribute to the swear jar around $5 – one dollar for swearing and $4 for calling me craft-tarded. Later on we chatted while she was waiting for Annie (who was spending the national GDP of a small African country on various fabric). Like all hobbies and occupations there is a meta-language that exists in the craft world. I suggested to Jodie (and the rest of the craft blogging world) that maybe the other end of the continuum to craft-tarded should be craft-tastic.
I was lucky enough through my periods of Sluggo-sitting to chat to several stall holders – Louise + Cathy from Audrey and Maude, Belinda from Tutti Frutti, Fi from Dear Fii, Helen and Nic from The Stencil Gallery, Justine from Mixtape and Lisa from The Red Thread and many others. Everyone had amazing designs (even from an art and craft philistine like myself) and there were so many different yet quality products. Quite a few of the Incubatorettes were obviously multi-tasking champions (Sorry – I’m a bloke who still is amazed by this) who were either knitting, stitching, cutting, making, creating a little something whilst running the stall and chatting to either customers or neighbouring stall holders. I needed to have a Bex and good lie down just watching them operate. One of the above mentioned ladies (with 5 kids of her own) gets absolutely no gold stars for her suggestion, after seeing Sluggo, that Kate and I need to work on adding some more cute kids to our brood (and yes I’ll contribute to the swear jar!).
Good move having the kids Crayola section – a gold star from me to the organisers. However, they could have got 27 more stars by maybe considering a small bloke’s section – with some chairs & tables, sport tvs or radio, magazines, papers, bar facilities, all just slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the show. Remember that happy hubby = more chance of you staying at the show = spending lots in the Incubator section.
Ms Banshee obviously needed a break here and there so I took over running the stall while she ate, shopped and chatted to others. I’ve never worked in a retail job before so it was a little weird seeing people look at me funny as I stood in front of the quilts, toys, bags, patterns and yarn with a half completed sock knitted on the table. “Surely he couldn’t have made all that?” Correct. Still - Millions of gold stars to the lady who stood there and said to her partner “Wow – look at the great work this guy’s doing on that sock”. Made my day! It was actually quite cool being able to see the variety of people come through and chat, and even better when those who found out I knew little about the craft stuff still continued to chat and even more so those who actually bought something from me at the stall.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to say hi and maybe I’ll see you in Melbourne next year!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sleep
I'm seriously in need of sleep. Eva is back to waking up for hours at night. The only option is to take turns being up with her for 3 hours or let her scream for three hours. This just gets worse when Chris is on volunteer ambulance call and he is out for hours at a time during the night and day. I know he is doing a great service and don't want to complain about it, but I just need a few hours of peace to work or sew on weekends and I feel very frazzled without it.
One good thing from this weekend is we started looking at bigger houses. Good because we are all going to drive each other mad in this little house if we have to stay here, but it is a very scary thought having to move everything in this house somewhere else.
Coming soon a guest post: Nice one Jodie - I'm blaming you for encouraging Chris to guest post about the Stitches and Craft Fair. He has been typing away and said it is finished. Mmm think I might have a little look and a little edit before I post it.
No craft pictures today so here is one of the big girls.
One good thing from this weekend is we started looking at bigger houses. Good because we are all going to drive each other mad in this little house if we have to stay here, but it is a very scary thought having to move everything in this house somewhere else.
Coming soon a guest post: Nice one Jodie - I'm blaming you for encouraging Chris to guest post about the Stitches and Craft Fair. He has been typing away and said it is finished. Mmm think I might have a little look and a little edit before I post it.
No craft pictures today so here is one of the big girls.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Homemade Recipe Book
This fabulous book was waiting for me when I got back from Sydney. Well done to everyone who helped to make it. If you would like your own copy you can order one here.
All proceeds of the sales go to the Salvation Army.
I made a vague attempt to clean up today and just ended up making more mess and more piles of things I want to make, but I did find this beautiful pile of felt from Winterwood I bought in Sydney.
All proceeds of the sales go to the Salvation Army.
I made a vague attempt to clean up today and just ended up making more mess and more piles of things I want to make, but I did find this beautiful pile of felt from Winterwood I bought in Sydney.Thursday, August 27, 2009
Shopping
Cushion from Rummage. I love craft that can make me laugh.
Fabric from Kristen Doran, Sprout, Pippijoe and Ink and Spindle with one of Fi's wrist pincushions.
Spots from Just Patchwork (because you can never have too many spots) and MixTape.
Blues and Green (I have a plan) from Amitie.
A purse kit from Nikki and the lovely panels from The Red Thread convinced me I should try embroidering.
Fabric from Kristen Doran, Sprout, Pippijoe and Ink and Spindle with one of Fi's wrist pincushions.
Spots from Just Patchwork (because you can never have too many spots) and MixTape.
Blues and Green (I have a plan) from Amitie.
A purse kit from Nikki and the lovely panels from The Red Thread convinced me I should try embroidering.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sydney Stitches and Craft
All set and ready to go.
Rummage
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I'm Back
I'm back from my week in Sydney Parramatta. I will be back to tell you all about the Stitches and Craft show when I wash some clothes and find some food for everyone.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sydney
Just doing all the last minute things to get ready for Sydney and the Stitches and Craft Show. Finished a skirt with this amazing fabric from Tessuti.
Making piles of things to pack. This is a bit of the yarn I still have to squish in somewhere.
In the middle of the chaos I finished this no purl Monkey Sock. My first finished sock using the Magic Loop.
If you are at the show please come and see me and say hello at stand 182.
Making piles of things to pack. This is a bit of the yarn I still have to squish in somewhere.
In the middle of the chaos I finished this no purl Monkey Sock. My first finished sock using the Magic Loop.If you are at the show please come and see me and say hello at stand 182.Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wombats, Giraffes and Caterpillars
The last of the toys finished for Sydney. Just hoping that I fit everything in my bags.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Clothes Sewing
I had a completely crap sewing day yesterday. more unpicking than sewing and nothing great to show at the end of it. So today I sewed things I knew would end well. Another corduroy skirt this time with a panel of Ink and Spindle fabric off centre on the front.
A long sleeve version of Simplicity 3835. I love this fabric. I think I found it at Spotlight on sale in the quilting section, but it is not quilting fabric. More like a voile.
And now some giraffes need stuffing while I watch the girls do 'the bestest dance moves ever'. These should be the last of the softies for Stitches and Craft. Then I should probably start organising everything, clean up the craft room, maybe even clean some of the house.
A long sleeve version of Simplicity 3835. I love this fabric. I think I found it at Spotlight on sale in the quilting section, but it is not quilting fabric. More like a voile.
And now some giraffes need stuffing while I watch the girls do 'the bestest dance moves ever'. These should be the last of the softies for Stitches and Craft. Then I should probably start organising everything, clean up the craft room, maybe even clean some of the house.Thursday, August 06, 2009
Today...
Finishing wombats and caterpillars.
Finished the hem on another New Look 6775 smock like top. (Yes I am a little bit obsessed with this green Heather Bailey fabric).
Making zucchini slice.
Finished the hem on another New Look 6775 smock like top. (Yes I am a little bit obsessed with this green Heather Bailey fabric).Making zucchini slice.Laughing at Eva's dance moves.
Trying to dry washing before it rains again.
Feeling strangely calm despite it being less than two weeks until Sydney Stitches and Craft.
Don't forget to have a look here and download some vouchers before you head to the show. Just print out this voucher and save 10% at Two Little Banshees.
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