It's all about the slow burn projects at my place at the moment. I've got the white quilt, a bit of stitchery, the car crochet & a bit of knitting. There are also quite a few projects that have been put on the back burner waiting for more time.
I think perhaps a few too many things on the go - meaning I'm getting no where fast with any of them...sigh.
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.
Taking a few slow & small stitches. I've been procrastinating with this one for far too many months!
It's light & airy & delicate and it seems lately I've been more about the speed so this has been "back-burnered" more than once.
Time to get on with it.
Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.
I'm fighting the big girl for time at the machine today.
I've hacked into an old feed sack & am working on easing gently back into the making.
I wonder if you guys have been making or if like me you've lazed away the summer hols.
Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along today.
& thinking it might be time to dust the old girl off & give her a run.
Daybreak on January 11 2011 @ Broadbeach QLD
Life is mostly froth & bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's troubles,
Courage in your own.
This contribution came out of "Enid's" autograph book. I bought the book with the all time Rummager.
B Williamson
Our Lady of Mercy College
Goulburn July 24th 1917
- - -
If you would like to help Pip has a fabulous list of links here.
- - -
January is the very best time to be in Melbourne.
It seems that everybody leaves town on Christmas Day & things don't really fire up again until school goes back. It's bliss.
If I close my eyes I can hear the tumbleweeds rolling down the street. I love that normally manicured lawns are ignored. Littered with weeds they look just right to me. Any green space should be left to ramble in my opinion.
Anything texty is going to get me everytime & what's not to love about black & white with hint of brick?
I took a little detour with the girls the other day & found myself at the Abbotsford Convent.
I really love that place...it's like stepping into another world.
I'm not quite ready to step back into the creative space thingy but if you're keen say "i" & I'll fire it up for next week OR happy to cruise a couple more weeks. Up to you.
hands - an ongoing project by me
I had planned a little TTFN post last Friday & then I kind of faded to black without warning...sorry.
It seems I've just slipped quietly into holiday mode...watching trash on the teev with my big girl.
It's been a big year & I'm looking forward to a bit of downtime. I'm going to take a bit of time off to really enjoy the break with the fam.
I might be back with a holiday something or I might not. I'm just going to let the summer of 2010/11 wash over me.
Thank you all for your very valuable contribution to this space during 2010. If you've read, commented, laughed or just nodded along...you're totally ace...it's why I keep showing up & hoping that maybe something in my sometimes-cheaty-sometimes-serious makings will make you want to make something too.
Have a safe & happy holiday...TTFN.
xoxo
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.
The decs are popping up all over the place & I'm making some too.
Strips of Liberty at the ready... festive but not too Christmassy so we'll be able to enjoy them all year round.
This is going to be the last Creative Space for 2010. We will fire up again late Jan or early Feb. Take a break from the making...if you like...or don't...but do put your feet up and enjoy some time with your loved ones. Thank you all for making Thursdays such a lovely community day...you're ace!
Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.
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.
It's totally faker crochet! If you are a purist...power to you. Hook yourself some little caps for soap.
I confess I find the gifting of handmade items something of a challenge. It's one thing to give something you've painstakingly hooked, or stitched, or knitted, or sewn to someone else who makes things & appreciates them. It's quite another to gift the same items to folk who've no idea of the time involved. Faker or not - it's all the same to them. So...at this time of year when you're crafting to give I heartily recommend the faker route.
I got lucky at the oppy a couple of weeks ago & picked up a set of 6 crochet coasters which were a bit stained & yick. I slung them in the washing machine & stared at them for a while & wondered if a soap cosy might be just the ticket? Loofah & soap in one...yep! Time to have a crack folks.
Five minutes flat per soap...maybe less.
How to make faker crochet covered soap
View more presentations from kootoyoo.
A bracelet.
It was far too fiddly really but I am chuffed with the result.
If you're a die hard you might remember I was trying to fashion myself a bracelet like this. It's been on the backburner for a good long time but certainly not forgotten.
OK so I may not have quite hit the mark but I am quite pleased with my crafty take on the theme.
I just crocheted chains of embroidery floss into chains & then attached all the separate chains to a very nifty bit of hardware I purchased at a beading supply shop.
As an aside...
If you are a die hard. Thanks a million...for putting up with the drivel & offering support & encouragement when I have a "win". You're tops.
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
It will probably come as no surprise to you to know that I'm an obsessive kind of person.
I run because I made a rule. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to food & I have the same pretty drink. The recent switch to Zubrowka (the original bison grass vodka) has meant I'm enjoying it more. A bit dangerous really.
It stands to reason that our children would also have inherited a few of my obsessive qualities.
When the kids were small I wasn't much about the making of things. There were no supplies in the house. No elastic or buttons or zips or even a selection of threads. I'd packed the machine away & only dragged it out for emergencies of the obsessive kind. I made a Melody costume for the biggest when she thought she was a mermaid. I refashioned a pinny when Madeline was the go. I made running repairs to the hot pink flowergirl dress (worn by all three) & one year I made them & all their mates Puffles when they were Club Penguin mad.
One freezing June morning when the little guy was three I fashioned him a loin cloth so that he could be Tarzan. It was made using an old suede waistcoat from the dress up box & the top of a pair of red tights. The total make time would have been around ten minutes.
I found the loin cloth last night when I was doing a bit of reluctant cleaning upstairs.
I remembered that tiny (but strangely muscular) little frame leaping about the furniture, springing from sofa back to floor and crouching and stalking me around the house.
It's good to be a maker...even a speedy, fakey only in case of emergency kind.
The lino cut printed onto a felt covered notebook. A gentle reminder to myself ... don't be afraid to fail.
I need to work on the ink/paint/fabric medium thing. I'm not sure about the consistency of the paint. The first few were OK & then I wonder if the paint started to dry out too much? Any tips on lino printing onto fabric would be greatly appreciated.
A few people have asked about the lino. I used lino from the art supply shop to carve my block. I think that if you're having a crack for the first time then it might be better to start with the easy carve blocks. Easy carve blocks are basically a large eraser. They are easier to cut into & easier to manage/print with after the carving is done.
Mucking around with pencil & paper in a bit of down time from the hook. Doodling, writing, scribbling & trying to figure out how to make my homework look semi decent. I'm not at all comfortable with the pencils. ARGH!
Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.
Mucho excitement. We will be the most organised house in Melbourne next year...ahem.
The piece I stitched (which now resides with Rita in mini-quilt form) is on the cover of the Notebook diary for 2011.
The floral spray was taken from a vintage pillow case & then stitched by me (under the influence of Ike Rosen).
I will be gifting these for Christmas...mothers, sisters, aunties...look out.
PS: A big giant thank you to all the lovely folk who left me gorgeous comments on the calendar post. I had such a great time making it & utterly thrilled that so many of you enjoyed it too. x
Liberty pin cuff.
I did get excited about these & made more than one & less than a few. They are in the shop now if this kind of thing is up your alley. There's a "steak knife" sweetener too you know...matching pins & free postage in Australia.
In other balancing act type activity ... I am preparing for the smaller two people to finish up school on Friday. We've got a pretty full couple of weeks planned. The September holidays are my favourite. Everyone really needs the break & we're all excited about a less rigid timetable for a couple of weeks.