Sweet Fabric:
good

I was actually looking for blue stuff for my sister but this DIVINE set of mixing bowls had my name all over them.

Op Shop visits have been few & far between over the summer but I was well rewarded on my sneaky stop over the other day.

I confess that the red kitchen collection is getting a little out of hand but what's a girl to do?

Happy weekend lovely folk. Hoping that the Op Shops are good to you & Camberwell's Trash & Treasure is good to me. I do love a bargain.

PS: If you'd love a bargain of the fabric kind you'd better quick click here. It's the very last day of Aunty Cookie's super sale.

I'm without a car for a couple of weeks.

I've noticed just how much I rely on the car. Today I walked and caught the tram into the city with the girls for a doctor's appointment and then rode my bike to visit my sister...I'm shattered.

Much as I love living in the leafy green suburbs (where not even a coffee is walking distance) today would have been much easier if I lived in Fitzroy.

This map is from an old street directory picked up at the Camberwell market yesterday - so good!

Remember last years stolen decorations?

They are officially a tradition now. I've gone nuts with the transparent thread & have been suspending little reminders of 2010 for my lovely mates.

I've gifted a few already & there are a few still to post.

You should totally steal this tradition for yourself...it's a really good goosebumpy one.

A wonderful long weekend spent in Canberra with just the toppest people going around!

It was totally relaxed but full & exciting.

Nan & I had two of the best ever thrifting days in the history of thrifting! Nan's little vehicle was full to overflowing with amazing finds.

I need to sift through my little (plane friendly) treasures but they are all pic worthy so you'll be swamped soon enough with pea green goodies.

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.

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.

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.

WOW... lots & lots of you are pretty excited about hyperbolic crochet. Maybe you're keen to have a crack yourself? Good on you I say...

Hyperbolic crochet is all about maths! You can find out all about the formula here.

I do not have a maths brain. What I read was blah, blah, blah, blah CHAIN blah, blah blah, blah SINGLE (AU double) blah, blah, blah, blah.

What I did...

CH 2
6DC (US single) into the 2nd chain from the hook.

Then I just spiralled (out of control) 2DC (US single) into each DC (US single) repeat ...... for 2 balls of yarn. It's probably not mathematically correct but it gave the desired result. My finished hot pink number fits into my cupped hands.

Further very valuable info...

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the launch of Sew La Tea Do by Pip Lincolne. The event was fabulous, the book is fabulous & actually Pip is quite fabulous. I was thrilled to be included.

I was further thrilled when Gemma Jones told me that The Melbourne Reef is being exhibited in Upwey! I'm so totally going along to see it. They are even hosting workshops.

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.

for this space!

The week out was good for my soul but not so good for the crafting.

& I've got a little confession for you...

The taking of photos has been zapping all my creative energy. I'm trying really hard...failing lots...and maybe getting better at the snapping (but still terrible at chatting to random people & taking photos in the street).

It's good to be back but I expect it'll be sporadic until the kids go back to school.

It's all about "on the go".

The kids have athletics today so I won't be around. I'm prepared though, I've been slowly working away on this crochet piece during swimming lessons & music lessons. It just stays in the car & when I get half an hour here & there I've got something to keep me busy.

Lovely space from last week right here.

Have a good day today everyone. I'll catch you next week.