Sweet Fabric:
a little help from my friends

This is a little something I made for a giggle & for you.

I'm hoping that I'll give Pickering (mine's safe for work folks - I promise) a run for his money & grace the back of toilet doors globally...nationally...locally...ok at least at Claire, Christie & Shazza's places because they encouraged me to take on this project in the first place.

I've been tinkering away on this for a couple of months...since you first got a laugh out of my noticing & beret shots. All crafty "disguises" have been fashioned by me, some especially for the project & some were just loitering about the house in various states of completion.

I dragged the little guy in to check out my "folio". He watched in horror as I flicked through the images & then we had this conversation...

Little guy: "Mum, this is terrible. Nobody is going to want this."
Me: "It's free buddy."
Little guy: "Even then Mum. Only your friends will look at it, because they'll feel sorry for you."

I'm confident that anyone who reads here regularly will enjoy the calendar & take it in the spirit in which it's intended. For any new-to-me folk who are saying to themselves "This girl's got a touch of the Warren Beattys about her." - well, there's something in there for you too. x

Get your free 2011 calendar here.

A very happy weekend to you all.

PS: Thanks Jod for the scribd assistance.

Just to prove I haven't dropped the ball.

The mini quilt top is pieced.

Just as expected I like the back more than the front. I'm aching for lack of a mini clover iron & think I need to get in touch with the pigeon to get my seams looking the goods.

My original plan was to leave the edges raw. Apart from the fact that I love raw edges the quilt is an irregular shape & I frankly wouldn't have the foggiest on how to bind such a thing. I'm not entirely sure that my partner is going to get behind the rawness. So...do I forge ahead with the original plan or rethink*? Maybe I'll just go on as planned...post...& promise to replace with something a little more conventional if she hates it.

*if you say "rethink" then please point me to a tutorial for binding an irregular shaped quilt...thanks muchly.

Edit: You might want to show Pip what you're making.

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

Photo credit...house & baby. Did you know h&b is a finalist in the Centro smile competition? Visit her blog for details on how you can vote for her. She's good!

You may remember (or not - it was a long time ago) a few lovely people helped me out with their hopes & dreams for the future.

Now I'd like to know what fills your week. Just a list of words is what I'm after...

Thank you in advance.

I do find the idea of sheets on a line as window furnishings quite charming & I think that these curtains would look gorgeous in right here.

However, I'm after something a bit more permanent for the new house. So today I signed up for a window furnishing course...super excited. If I'm going to do it I want to do it right. Pippa has all the know how & I've promised to be good & do my homework. Hoping I'll be able to make roman blinds for the kids' rooms (at the very least).

I'm pretty keen never to go back to an office job again. I shared this with Aunty Pat recently & she replied...

"Money saved is money earnt"

Thinking about this a lot.

Nice things happen at my kitchen bench.

It's a place to gather, chat, drink & eat. It's currently quite small & we have a huge living/meals area attached but people only ever sit at the bench. Consequently, the bench in the new place will be much more accommodating.

The lovely doodle above was begun by my sister in the afternoon. She inked the leaf & then left it sitting on the bench. In the evening Trace came over for a swim & a pretty drink. The red pencil was moving the whole time she sat & chatted.

I think I'm going to see how much creativity I can draw out of "accidental artists" this year.

Today was supposed to be the day I officially launched building our future & showed you a pic of the site cut & got all excited & then promised to only bore you on the building blog.

But...we're on hold until Friday.

At around 7:25am my brain threatened to burst out of my temples...so in an attempt to cheer myself up I put on some cherry gear (yep - including cherry undies!) & headed out for coffee. It was just a little too early for a vodka!

I'm lucky with the Op Shopping I know.

This wonderful selection was rescued for me by a guy at work.

The polaroid format doesn't do the haul justice ... at least double this. The chocolate box contained so many beautiful buttons I can't even tell you.

Knicker Day was so utterly fantastic!

We learnt to make undies out of old t-shirts. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how totally up my alley this was!

Of course Gemma knew I'd love the tricky neat way to finish the FOE (fold over elastic) & she was right! Gem - I think I've got it!!!

The pattern Gem gave us was a vintage one & her instructions utterly brilliant. I've used old cotton/lycra t-shirts & have found that they make up perfectly to the measurements. If I was using a plain cotton T I would probably go up 2 sizes.

I'm getting a bit cocky now & I'm going to have a crack at some "own style" undies next.

Thanks Gem for a sensational day & a wonderful new skill.

on leather.

We were all on the same page with the chain vs leather.

I think I'm going to leave the longish tails on the leather. It looks kinda twiggy.

Thanks for your constructive feedback girls.

Friday Archives hosted by Loobylu

Shot of the school girls at my big fat bogan wedding - 1995.

Eeek...one of my very bestest friends from school has just started a blog.

I owe her a lot. If she hadn't helped me pass Art by giving me all her art history assignments in Year 10 I'd have been doomed to a Year 11 full of Accounting & Economics (no pre-requisites). Instead I spent a glorious year swanning around the textiles, garment construction, ceramics, print making & painting studios.

Anyway, she would really love some feedback on what I KNOW will be a journey in creative writing worth following.

I'm loving reading all about the life & times of Jamie (much like many of us with small kids & an exec husband) & her twin sister Lisa (humanitarian & student of life).

She's really good at drinking games. So if you feel like a relaxing Friday afternoon this is the place.

is brilliant.

We had her sausages in a bag for dinner last night.

So yummy, the fussy smalls ate the lot & the smell of basil filled the house. What could be better?

Thanks Pip - you're good.

Today it's one year since I pulled the blogging runners on & took my first step out onto the track.

Actually, the first step was taken sometime in 2005. That step was one taken my many others and it landed me fair & square in the middle of lovely Loobylu. I walked silently alongside Claire for a good long time & was hugely impressed when she began cross training.

Occasionally I took a stroll with Nichola and her lovely sidebar mates and Justine’s iPod seemed to be loaded with all the right tunes.

Late in 2006 when I was out for my stroll I tripped over this. Pip was setting a cracking pace & I loved running beside her.

In the middle of last year Pip stopped running to grab a Gatorade & issued an invitation. “Crochet yourself some laces for those Asics Kirst. You’ll need them if you’re going to run with me”.

I'm a huge fan of the run but I was a complete novice at running a journal of any kind. I knew I was going to need a training program if I was going to have any chance at all.

The program went something like this…

1. Post everyday for 21 days. Make the habit.
Effortless, just like running on the flat.

2. If that goes well…make sure you return comments.
A bit more tricky, running on sand
(made more difficult by my cranky coach who only woke periodically from napping in the arm chair to deliver the message!)

3. Speak up…if you like something, say so.
Nice & easy, running down hill with the wind behind me.

I think once I’d found my stride & was comfortably running in the zone I got a bit cocky & made this rule…

4. Post everyday for 1 year!
This is probably the hill that’s been the toughest to climb.

Some days have felt like a sprint to the finish, a few have felt like a monotonous treadmill run, others have felt like a hill climb of epic proportions & I’m pretty sure on at least a couple I’ve limped into the first aid tent!

But I’ve done it. I’ve crossed the finish line & I think I’ve run a pretty good race.

I’m knackered though…I’ve tried really hard & given it my all.

So, if you've been spurring me on, cheering & supporting...

OR thinking I’m crazy as you watched from the comfort of your sofa...

OR if you've run a few kilometres with me...

OR kept the sugar levels high with beautiful eye candy...

OR most importantly, if you were there with me when the starter’s gun went off & been running hard with me the whole way,

THANK YOU!

Recovery is important. You’ve got to rest after a big race. I’m giving myself a few days off.

21 days to make it – 3 days to break it?

.

As any girl knows the Football Club Dinner Dance is THE social event of the year!

It's a 60s, 70s & 80s night (which means you could come dressed in just about anything...I know).

I've whittled my rather extensive collection of classic vintage dresses down to these two. Both were owned & worn by my Grandma. I'd say they would have been purchased in the 60s as this would have been when she was about the same size & shape as me.

The black number is "Made in Italy" & the white is "Made in Hawaii".

I think I'm leaning more towards the white because it looks a bit more dress uppy. I'm really loving that black number though & I think I'll be adding it to my real wardrobe. But I'd really appreciate your opinion.

I've got my eye on the Tackers coach & I want to make a good impression. He's got excellent taste in music, is really good behind the bar & plays a mean game of golf.
.

See more images here

A couple of months ago I picked up an Avant card for Do it with Denim, a competition run in conjunction with Jeans for Genes & in support of Children's Medical Research Institute. The Institute is celebrating it's 50th birthday this year.

I got all inspired & made this to enter into the competition. It's what the broomstick needles were fashioned for & what this tease was all about.

My dear sweet friend modelled for me & I got all my stuff together ready for the entry...

Hausfrau
I have taken my inspiration from housewives of the 1950s for this project.

This garment has been constructed entirely by hand using handcrafts employed by a 1950’s housewife. The garment itself is knitted from hand cut strips of denim jeans (6 pairs) & the gold detail is crochet.

Many supporters of charitable organisations have been & continue to be housewives. They give their time to assist with labour & fundraising. I am proud to represent this group.

Hausfrau is a vest that can be worn at least 4 different ways.

....Then I re read the terms & conditions.

So, I haven't entered. BUT...Hausfrau will be worn to death by me & maybe Trace too. It wasn't a complete waste of time.

This gorgeous girl has kicked off a bit of Friday fun & always up for a challenge I thought I'd have a crack.

After all...I went to a fabulous school that offered ceramics, printmaking, textiles, painting & drawing, garment construction & photography. True to form I tried my had at all of these and had wonderful parents allowed me to do Art 1 & Art 2 (read 8 hours of art per week) instead of maths! I was always more about the experience than the end result. I thought I'd have some giggle worthy stuff to share.

I had a feeling that most of my "folio" (& I use the term loosely) had been skipped during the most recent clean out. No great loss there I can assure you. BUT...I thought I had some stuff under the ranch. I donned the head torch & went for a rummage - I came up short. I did find all the letters the date & I wrote to each when we first hooked up! That gave the two of us a giggle but they have now been ceremoniously binned. I wanted to fire up the incinerator - if only it weren't illegal!

Anyway, enough of my drivel. In short - my Friday Archives offerings will be thin on the ground I think. Sorry Claire.

The above is a mother bird guarding her eggs. I made her when I was 3 with my next door + one neighbour who had a ceramics shed & her own kiln - incredible.

Ahh Betty was gorgeous wasn't she Jo?

are lots of new bits & pieces.

The article from yesterday featuring lovely Pip.

The preliminary drawings for our big & exciting something (I haven't reduced the image so you can have a snoop & just see what that room on the right is - it makes me quite squirmy- eeeek).

A lovely Loobylu parcel in the post today & waiting on my desk when I got home from work.

My luscious crown the girls made me last year. The small crowned me when I was at the computer last night.

Blank Matryoshka. I've been wanting to have a crack at a set of these for a while now. This lovely girl is working on a set too.

The remains of the crochet baby blanket that the small has slept with, watched TV with & basically carted around with her for her entire life. It's name is Huky & it's the most revolting, manky old bit of string but loved more than anything! Jess will appreciate its importance.

All sorts of other little books, knick knacks & crafty supplies.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on my community post from yesterday - they have been greatly appreciated.

Please excuse the awful pic - this daylight saving thing has thrown me a bit.

This jewellery box was give to me by the date a good long time ago. The "real" jewels don't get kept in here. They are in top secret hiding spots - this is my decoy jewellery box (a brilliant idea inherited from my Non) for the burglars. Now I look at the contents up close there needs to be some shuffling. I'd be devastated if I lost some of these treasures to thieves.

I've got the goods (either gifted from or created by or both) from:

Betty Jo
Meet me at Mikes
Boobook Sausage Dogs
Three Buttons

as well as a huge assortment of items of great sentimental value:

-Antique clock key gifted by my dad & step mum for my 21st.
-Charm bracelet gifted by Non & added to on each overseas trip.
-Resin pendant & ring (green) gifted by my mum & sister
-Sculpey pendant made for me by my gorgeous little boy to wear to a wedding.
-Button necklace gifted by my mother in law & purchased on Brunswick Street some years ago.
-Numerous lovely pendants gifted by the date.

If you are curious about the zip image - it isn't mine. More zip images here. Some of them are a little freaky - but good. I like the banana.

If you are here wanting to learn how to sew in a zip Sew Mama Sew has a tutorial.

Good morning. This is a bit of a call for help. I am after a two way zip. Lincraft don't stock them & I don't really want to go to Spotty unless I am sure they have them. Does anyone know where to buy a two way jacket (rather than sleeping bag) zip?