Just look what the big girl made for her tiny cousin!
I can't believe how beautifully it's come up.
She was reluctant to try something new but once she started playing around with the fabric it came together very quickly.
All about the speed she certainly wasn't interested in the quilting so that was outsourced (to me).
She's enormously proud of it so I think the next one will be quilted entirely "in house".
When I read I switch of completely. I plonk myself down & read & read like a woman possessed until the book is finished. I'm sure it's not the healthiest way to devour literature & consequently I don't read as much as I'd like ... my family needs feeding after all.
I was sent Like Being a Wife (a collection of short stories) last year & found it to be the perfect antidote to my obsessive nature. I took the book a story by story just when I had a few moments ... very civilised.
The wet, windy and grey few days in Queensland meant that I had the luxury of having absolutely nothing to do. I spent a lazy afternoon finishing Like Being a Wife by Australian author Catherine Harris.
Catherine writes beautifully. She is witty & wordy & wonderful. I highly recommend this work of fiction to you all.
Giant thumbs up Catherine.
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Catherine Harris interviewed.
Like Being a Wife from the publisher.
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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.
It's actually the party skirt from Pip's book.
I'm calling it my beach skirt. I plan to flog it over summer. I'll sling it on over bathers when we are down the beach or at the pool.
The skirt is a really pretty shape & suits my little waist/big bum shape nicely. I did make a few modifications ... I've added press studs (snaps) instead of the tie up waistband. Perhaps that's what has taken it from party to beach...but I'm pretty chuffed with it regardless.
Absolutely everything used in the making of the pony skirt came from the op shop. Feeling pretty good about that!
It's just one of the many beautifully presented quick & easy projects in Sew La Tea Do.
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.
Just a bit of Monday eye candy really.
Isn't it beautiful? I picked it up at The Mill a while ago & it's just full of gorgeous supplies. My favourite treasure inside is the black & white stripey Myer bag which is filled with cut ribbon. It's a long time since anything from Myer came in a striped paper bag & I'm sure I can't remember anyone I know buying haberdashery from them.
Our weekend was relatively lazy - I can feel spring in the air & I'm thrilled about it. The Big Girl finished The Kite Runner on Saturday & the two of us sobbed our way through the movie yesterday.
Hoping that you had a fabulous weekend.
Did you know that I'm part of the Down Under Doll Quilt Swap? It was organised an embarrassingly long time ago by the gorgeous Kate.
In true kootoyoo style I've left it & left it & left it some more. Don't get me wrong...there's been plenty of think time & in my head the finished quilt is really, really beautiful. In reality I have one (yep 1) block pieced and another cut out. Not a fabulous start eh?
No more new anythings until this piece is finished so I'm going to share my in progress shots. If you catch me wandering off course do you reckon you'd prompt me with a comment like "Hey Kirst, haven't seen much on the white quilt front...what's up with that?".
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In other news...
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I've been included in Kidspots Top 50 Bloggers which is hugely flattering. Considering this is a "just for fun" gig for me & there are heaps of professional writer types included I'm quite chuffed. Thanks a bunch Kidspot.
There's the opportunity there to win a holiday to Dunk Island which is pretty cool so maybe check out the list, see if you're favourites are there. If so - click to vote.
I've got to say that I think that the craft blog community is pretty under represented on the list. So many beautiful, thoughtful, productive, positive, creative women I love who haven't been represented.
A big hearty thanks to those of you who have voted for me & saved me from left-on-the-shelf embarrassment. Muchly appreciated. x
Beris is the best name ever!
I picked up a gorgeous embroidered table cloth at Camberwell Antiques last week.
It's got a lovely collection of names embroidered all around it...
Mildred, Gloria, Wendy, Beris, Phyllis, Helen, Pauline, Noelle, Joni, Paddy, Vonnie, Trish, Isabelle, Paul, Beverley, Anita, Besse, Mara, Jean, Norma, Fay, Grace, Lesley, Jenny, Kath, Elvie, Glenda & the four Margs (S, T, B & N).
It's just the most beautiful piece of work. I wonder if these folk were card players (the cloth is card table size) or maybe a church group?
& did you see my other fabulous vintage find?
isn't it just begging to be opened?
Of course, I'm way too chicken for that kind of thing. It was all I could do to summon the courage to take the pic.
Noticed elsewhere:
beautiful greeting cards
The "worst" house in the best street. It's a very posh street in Canterbury & all the other houses are quite beautifully kept. I love this place.
I'm feeling heartily sick of myself & kootoyoo in general.
I feel I need a distraction & with the kids on holidays for the next couple of weeks I think it's the perfect opportunity to down the craft tools & pick up the camera. I'm noticing stuff (& hopefully I'll have the camera ready when I do).
Not all the good stuff can be clicked mind you ... on Saturday morning the kids & I actually saw the end of a rainbow. This has never happened to me before - it was magical & amazing. I shan't be sacrificing these noticings digging around in my bag for the camera.
If you feel like noticing some stuff right along with me...feel free. I'd love to have some company.
I'm not aware of a link between my environment & stuff I make. I mean I notice stuff & appreciate it but I don't add drawings of nature to the moleskin. Once I finished the scarf (it turns out Sunspun did have one more ball), I thought it looked just like elm leaves I picked up last week on the run.
Our area is terrible for elm leaf beetle which is what has created the lace pattern on the leaf.
Rowan Tapestry is just a beautiful yarn & perfect for a project this size. I used a 6.5mm hook & used about 240 metres of yarn to make a 1.6 metre scarf.
I imagine this scarf would look glorious crocheted in yarn by Leah or Kate. I think that I shall try that next.
It's going to be gifted to my mother in law for her birthday. She is, by her own admission, the Imelda Marcos of the scarf world.
Well here it is! The Granny Square necklace by Victoria Mason. As amazing as it looks in this photo - it's so much better in real life. Just how Victoria has managed to make it drape & curl is beyond me.
You might remember that Victoria asked me to crochet her a tiny square & if you follow her blog (& you should because she's so amazingly generous with her process) you will have seen it develop further...
here, here & here.
Victoria's work is incredible, every piece she makes has a beautiful story behind it & the attention paid to every step of the process is beyond compare.
Victoria has given this to me to pass on to one of you! Amazing!
These are brand spanking new (not yet available for sale) & this one is a one-off. Vic was trialling enamel colours and has settled for a couple of different combinations for the "for sale" pieces.
How lucky you would be to wear this piece around your neck? Want to be an early adopter? Comment away people & we'll draw a winner Monday night.
Thank you Victoria for including me in the creation of this piece, for being so clever, for being so generous & just generally for being ACE.
Comments now closed 10:44pm Monday 17 May. Winner announced Tuesday 18 May. Thanks.
I'm multi tasking like a maniac at the moment.
Stuff I'm getting paid for, stuff I'm doing for pleasure, cooking, knitting, sewing, stitching & hooking too. It's out of control.
Just because I have the attention span of a hyper 2 year old I borrowed this Crop-O-Dile from Cathy. I've said it before & I'll say it again. Scrap bookers have the best tools ever! This thing is amazing. Don't get too close to me or you may find yourself with a few holes punched in you!
Good stuff comes in small black boxes lined with velvet doesn't it? Well, let me tell you the thing inside this box is just about the best thing in the whole wide world. It's made by one of the cleverest people I know. It's beautiful but you'll have to come back tomorrow to see it. I promise it will be worth the click.
Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.
I made a lemon birthday cake for The Date...for desert at the family(his) lunch.
I'd scoured Delicious and found just the recipe. A nice list of ingredients that made me sure the resulting cake would live up to the "delicious" promise.
I made sure I had the best ingredients, nice olive oil, home grown lemons, quality prosecco, beautiful eggs. I set to work and made the cake. It did all the right things in my new oven (which I'm not great mates with yet) & looked gorgeous when I removed it from the tin.
I tasted the tiny bit that stuck to the side of the tin & my heart sank. It tasted very eggy.
What was I worried about? I'm normally pretty good with this sort of thing. I thought that there'd be plenty said about the egg cake rather than the lemon cake. Then all sorts of crazy food poisoning scenarios were running through my head.
I knew I wasn't going to be serving my cake. We went to Browns on the morning of & picked up a white chocolate & raspberry cheesecake (stunning) & a flourless orange cake (meh).
The cake was duly sampled when we returned home on Monday evening & it was, just as the magazine promised ... absolutely delicious.
There's a lesson here ... if you think it's good - it IS good & who cares what other people think.
The door at Auntie Pat's is big & heavy.
I knock - a little melodious knock. "Come in", I hear. I think how cool it is that my eighty something Great Aunt is happy to have her door unlocked.
I let myself in.
Auntie Pat is all organised and ready for our knitting date. The radio is tuned to Magic 1278 and her current knitting project is laid out on the dining table.
I'm offered a cuppa and say yes to a cup of tea. Once the tea is made we settle ourselves at the table. Auntie Pat examines my homework. She's very happy with the way I'm knitting. She runs her fingers over my work and says softly "Mmm, yes, you're going to be a beautiful knitter Koo". I feel well pleased with this. I like to be good at stuff.
I've brought along the pattern as well as my 365 knitting stitches desk calendar. I hand the pattern over to Auntie Pat & ask ernestly if I should begin at January 1st or maybe today's date? "No", Auntie Pat says firmly. "Close that book." I do. "Right, now just open it up and work on whatever pattern it throws up." I do exactly that and open the book at the diagonal rib. Auntie Pat is pleased and tells me to get started.
I cast on using my thumb and Auntie Pat begins reading. We sit together in an easy silence, knitting and reading. "Islands in the stream" comes on the radio and I smile to myself. I don't think I've heard that song since 1987. I hum along happily.
Every now and then Auntie Pat offers a "interesting" or "hmmm, clever".
Very quickly the two hours is up. I pack my things and say my thank yous and goodbyes at the door. Once I start the car I'm tempted to tune the radio to 1278 but decide to save the Magic for Tuesdays with Auntie Pat.
Look what arrived in yesterday's mail. Not one but two gorgeous pin cushions from lovely Sara. It was beautifully packaged with a whole swag of little treats including a mixtape of songs to sew by.
I've knicked the image from Sara because she'd done such a great job with her photo.
Thanks Sara for the pin cushionS & thanks Kate for organising. It was fun.
was with the sticks. I learnt from my dear grandmother. The quick movement of her hands was inspiring & something I could never master. The painfully slow & awkward way I manipulated the needles & the yarn was too much for me & I concentrated my creative activities elsewhere.
I'm going to rectify that this year. I shall be spending a couple of hours each week with my Great Aunt learning how to do it "right".
Casting on with my thumb beautifully now & I've got the pointer finger flicking like a pro. No more of this hand off the needle & swing around with the yarn for me.
Once I've practiced my technique a bit more (& solved the problems of the world over cups of tea with Auntie Pat), I'm going to make this. Oh yes I am...just you watch me.
High 5 to Pip for this.
5 favourite thoughts, which turned into clicks, which turned into more thoughts from this week.
1. It's all about the pincushion & as a result I've found...
2. Namolio ... just beautiful, beautiful pieces.
3. Crochet doilies. I'm really quite obsessed - I think it was the refashion of the chair...
4. which leads me to wood & specifically the burning of wood.
5. I've been thinking about cushions for my couch too. Check out this lovely space.
