Sweet Fabric:
Room

I've banged on before about how I've lived my life on Map 46. I was born on the map, grew up on the map & married a boy from the map. Both our siblings live close by & we spend a lot of time with our families.

It was a tearful farewell when my sister & her husband made the move to Darwin 5 years ago. We've visited often & they came back each Christmas. I thought they'd never come "home".

The decision to move back was made swiftly and definitely.

They've moved into a gorgeous house (just a stone's throw from us) & I've been helping to get them settled in. She's done a sensational job of decorating on-a-shoestring. I finished off the family room with half a dozen cushions made from Warwick Fabric samples which serendipitously pull everything together.

It feels like she never left. I'm so grateful that she's made it home.

The "ghost town" feel of Melbourne in January makes me brave(r).

I'm more inclined to scale a fence or wriggle through a hole in the cyclone wire. The fear of winding up in jail seems more remote...surely the police are down the coast too?

Just super loving the club rooms.

What a lovely "welcome back" I received. Thank you all for your keen support.

The big girl has some vile gastric thing. She's small & thin & really can't afford a couple of days off the tooth. I'm crossing everything that the rest of us don't fall like flies.

The mattress has been dragged downstairs, off the carpet & in front of the Teev. It's just the way things roll in our house. You get sick & you move to the family room...a hangover from when I was a kid. I think a mattress on the floor is much more comfy than the sweaty brown vinyl couch I enjoyed as a kid.

Buddy sleeps on his own dog bed...always. BUT a comfy bed on the floor was simply too much for him to resist & I thought he looked so gorgeous so I left him.

Hoping she's back to her normal self quick sticks as she has quite a lovely crafty plan.

The wedding on Saturday was a real group effort.

Friends of the bride & groom shared their talents and helped out with cake decorating, invitations, photography & personalised chocolates as place settings!

I had a hand in the centrepieces for the tables. They looked beautiful and created a lovely romantic ambient glow. These are just perfect if you're planning a DIY wedding because they can be made well ahead of time.

The glasses were picked up for 50 cents a piece at local op shops. We chose to wrap in bamboo which had a lovely sheen & looked very pretty in the daylight.

wrapped tea lightView more presentations from kootoyoo.

Obviously these can be used and reused for different events & as either tealights or vases.

Perfect for your holiday table too.

This time with bamboo & as a neck piece.

I've got a mate who is a lover of green having a birthday this month. I wonder if maybe it's a little big though? Dunno...maybe I need to think about this one a bit more.

Isn't it excellent?

Of course all our bathrooms are unisex so this little cross stitched bit o signage is just perfect.

Tarn made it for me! It does actually hang in the doorway of the powder room...just as intended. I love it & am absolutely chuffed that she took the time to make something just for me.

I've been thinking a lot lately about relationships & marriage. The Date & I are fast approaching our 15th wedding anniversary. I'm just ever so grateful really ... for all the things he is & for all the things he isn't. I'm mighty glad to be sharing my bathroom with him. x

Since my disastrous ebay chaise purchase I've been on the hunt for a little sofa/settee/love seat for the space under the window in the family room.

Most of our furniture has been handed down, rescued, opped or picked up on the side of the road. This was not. It was purchased from 20th Century Scandinavia, 79 Lygon Street in Brunswick (9387 2664). That place is like heaven on earth. I was spoilt for choice!

I'm very pleased with the way everything has come together. I whipped up the cushions yesterday from a Warwick Fabric sample.

Read Lucy's post on 20th Century Scandinavia here.

for my very-special-passed-down-from-my-grandma jewellery led to this panicky mountain of pillowcases in the craft room.

I did find the rings but I obviously need to rethink my hiding spots.

I'll be folding & sorting & repacking the shelves over the weekend if you need me.

Hoping your weekend is a goodie.

I'm just playing around with some paint chips. I've got a little plan for the smallest's room. I think she'll like it.

Oh & I'm plotting my next lino cutting move too & thinking about all the half finished crochet projects I really want to finish up.

Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

I had such a great day with Aunty Cookie and the Meet Me at Mikes guys yesterday. Finders Keepers was a fabulous day out. You can read about the day & see fabulous pictures of the stalls & the event over at The Design Files or Mikes.

Shaz gave me this lightly hot water bottle vase & it joins Kate's hand in the bathroom (ring is by Victoria Mason) .... I know you need three to make it a collection so shall buzz off to etsy now.

& a bit on finding & keeping friends too...

I'm endlessly amazed by the number of really truly gorgeous mates I've made because of this bit of online drivel. My goings on are hardly ever poignant, personal or even humourous. But something in the way I've presented myself has led me to a growing number of found & kept friends & for that I will be eternally grateful. xxx

A little while ago I picked up these beautiful crochet cushion cover/cosy pieces at the Op Shop for the princely sum of $2 a piece!

They are stunning & the work that has gone into making them...incredible. If you're all about the hook & proving your eye straining worth then go for it I say. You'll earn my respect.

BUT I'm all about the smoke & mirrors & figured I'd have a go at a bit of fakery based on the original.

I love the combination of natural & white. I've used a thrifted/opped table cloth & a hotel grade (also opped) sheet. The sheet further adds to the fakeness of the whole deal as I didn't even have to hem the envelope closure.

I ripped the sheeting to size & whipped a pair of these up in under 20 minutes. I figured this bit of magic might be something you guys would like to have a crack at. I think that they would make excellent Christmas gifts.

The Date hates the pretty girly lights, hates the TV cabinet & chair but surprisingly doesn't mind the cushions! He still thinks the room's too girly but I'm not convinced. I prefer fresh.
Faker crochet cushion
View more presentations from kootoyoo.

So, the whole promise post from yesterday has totally retarded me. Instead of breaking out the white I've been to pick up an old (but new to me) desk, cleaned up a bit in the craft room, chatted on the phone, done a bit of knitting, drunk coffee, spoken of all manner of pinkery, been computer shopping & just generally avoided the (white) elephant in the room.

The brain's working overtime on a whole swag of other things I want to be making.

Overworking brain got me thinking about Tania's post & magnolias.

We call them "Promise Trees". Those buds appear while the weather is bleak, they promise to bloom - to bring the spring. They deliver!

So today I'm channelling my inner magnolia.

Hello!

I hope you've had a gorgeous weekend.

Melbourne has turned on another rainy miserable day today. The girls & I have spent the day in the craft room though so I'm not complaining.

I'm wondering if you might be able to help me out? I would really like to know your very favourite foodie blogs.

If you're a reader of cooking blogs please leave your recommendations in the comments.

Thanks muchly in advance.

See you tomorrow.

Kirsty
x

Just a collection of things I've been reworking &/or making for my 2011 project.

Today I'm making plans for a bit of supply shopping & I have to make a pair of PJs for a nearly 8 year old mate. Millie drew me a sketch & even supplied origami papers as fabric samples.

Really the making of clothes (save a few pieces) began & finished in the Garment Construction room at school with Mrs Testro but who am I to disappoint.

or buy one if you feel so inclined.

I had no end of trouble with the making of my own video. There was much swearing & carry on I can tell you.

It's three strikes & you're out around here. The Flip has been benched! So...I've ended up with a how to make up the cuff.

There are a swag of videos on youtube demonstrating broomstick lace & you can check those out right here.

How to make a contortionist cuff
View more presentations from kootoyoo.

I've had a number of "can I buy" requests. Historically, the making for money thing hasn't been kind to me...it's taken the joy away.

BUT the requests got me thinking & then I came up with the "more than one & less than a few" idea. I was so enormously chuffed with myself that I decided to actually make a couple for sale.

The Sometimes Shop will be stocked for one week only & then they go to the present cupboard (more affectionately termed the craft-skeleton-hiding-cupboard). Free Postage within Australia.

After months...nay years of admiring broomstick lace I think I've finally got it!

I've got an old McCalls magazine featuring a blanket of "broomsticked" mohair. It was hook/sticked in delightful candy colours & now I can do it too!

And because I don't like to waste anything my practice pieces have become cuffs.

Just so excited about the potential for this one.

Edit: I now have a how to posted here.

These are the best hooks in the universe. Perfect slipability & pretty colours too. I got them from meet me at mikes on Saturday.

I had a lovely weekend. I had the sticks out while the girls puzzled in the craft room, got whipped at scrabble, hooked a bit. Yesterday I saw Making it Handmade which left me feeling more excited about making stuff and about the fabulous people who actually get off their butts and make an ace documentary about it. Terrific effort Anna Brownfield.

A quick scan of the house reveals at least one discard pile in every room.

In the family room there are 4 & I dare not venture into the craft room to count the remains of the day in there.

I've actually moved this scrabble discard pile at least 10 times to clean & then put it right back in the same spot.

I like 'em - they make it feel like home. It does mean that I have no recall for shoes, pjs, empty glasses & plates though doesn't it?

I had reason to be at The Mall in West Heidelberg yesterday. A place I haven't been since about 1985.

I stepped out of my car and as I took my first steps towards Cambridge Arcade I felt my scalp tingle and every hair on my body stand on end.

I could hear Non's Italian heeled shoes clip clopping beside me and I could smell her sickly sweet perfume. Max Bygraves was singing somewhere in the distance. Non's knitting was spilling out of the hessian bag I was carrying for her. I smiled knowing that she'd not be wanting to waste her 15 minute tea break just sitting in the tea room and chatting to the storeman.

I notice that the heavy steel grate that we'd struggled with had long been replaced but the terrazzo stairs are still there and I gasp...remembering how strangely scared I felt when I had to take those stairs alone.

I leave Non in the arcade and take the front entrance into the store. I feel tears welling in my eyes and a lump rising in my throat. Surely the store was bigger than this. It's a discount store now. Gone are the bays for holding yarn and the wall that divided the shop front from the "warehouse". There's been no refit though. The same peg board lines the wall where we used to keep the laybys and the floor and wall paint remain as they were.

As I walk toward the back of the store I spy the door to the tea room and a faint waft of International Roast coffee fills the air.

The shop which now occupies the space at the end of Cambridge Arcade is fittingly called The Family Store.

And this morning I went back to snap myself some memory anchors.

It's what it's all about isn't it?

overlooking the water bottle on the bedhead,
saying nothing about the teabag in the sink,
not minding about the running shoes left in the middle of the bathroom floor,
keeping silent about the sugar bowl being left on the bench,
understanding that shoes should be left beside the footstool,
admiring the collection of sporting trophies,
supporting the house-to-home-junk-collection,
reluctantly framing the team photos,

& for Len and his wife the "pool room" laundry where he was allowed the poster of some 70s (Essendon) AFL hero in her perfectly pink sanctuary.

That's a marriage folks.

Noticed elsewhere:
birthday month at draw pilgrim