Sweet Fabric [Search results for Melbourne] 

What I've been doing for the last month (& a bit)!

Thought you guys might like a tour of the old place.

Obviously not our furniture but I did do the bathroom & had to kitchenify the kitchen (nobody I know has three pairs of vases in their kitchen).

Trades I've used (& heartily recommend). This should be the "go to" list for Melbourne folk.

A bit of back history...I used to work in Property Management so I've dealt with a lot of tradespeople in my time & these guys were all amazingly accommodating & just a pleasure to deal with. I'm sharing them with you because I know how hard it is to find good tradespeople & it's so helpful to have referrals.

Garden Maintenance:
LC Mowing
Lucas 0409 998 508
This guy is a machine! I have never in my life seen a skip packed so neatly or efficiently. He just goes & goes until the job is done. If you need your lawns done, weeding & general garden tidy up then Lucas is your man.

Builder:
Glen Johnston Home Improvements
Glen 0414 325 722
Professional, helpful & extremely particular. Just absolutely top quality workmanship. Glen's the man if you're renovating or building in Melbourne's East.

Plumber:
Marty 0438 771 007
Just a complete champion. It seems to me that finding a good plumber is like the quest for the holy grail. Marty is it!

Electrician:
Armadale Electrical
9509 9133
Gary was "my" electrician when I worked in Armadale & frankly I'd never use another electrician. The guys from Armadale Electrical are all super professional & just lovely blokes.

General Maintenance:
Polished Properties Maintenance Group
Mark 0438 019 994
Mark was recommended by our Real Estate Agent as the guy "who does it all". He co-ordinated painters & carpenters & general maintenance items. He's professional & a pleasure to deal with.

Concrete:
RL Concreting
John 1300 790 775
John did the driveway at our new house (which is exposed aggregate) & also helped us out at the old house. He's professional, prompt & a pleasure to deal with. He went above & beyond offering advice & options for us.

Render:
Jolley Textures
Reegan 0425 773 684
The house was rendered about twelve months ago & it's transformed it! Probably the best thing we did for the place which was previously a hideous orange brick. Reegan was extremely flexible & professional & will be coming back to the new place to render our new fence.

Garden Design:
Imperial Gardens
Tracey 0419 200 116
Tracey came in & offered practical advice on excellent low maintenance (& not too costly) garden design. The difference the plantings have made to the house is unbelievable. Imperial Gardens have some pretty impressive "cap feathers" in Toorak & Hawthorn & Tracey is offering consultations so that you can DIY. She works with what you have & offers no nonsense solutions to maximise the look of the property.

Further details on the house can be obtained from Tom Ryan (0413 872 550) at Jellis Craig.

If you live in Melbourne, you know it well. It's a bit boring day after day after day isn't it?

Just like the Elm scarf...
Made using Rowan Tapestry, a 6.5mm hook a "v stitch" ...
Pale grey, dark grey, oh & a little bit of blue grey...

I wish I was escaping the grey too.

We've left the madness that is pre-Christmas Melbourne behind & we're enjoying the snoozy pace of life by the sea. I've been to a beautiful wedding, slept a lot & sipped a lot & today I lost a couple of hours in this place.

I'd only been to Kyo once before & had no idea it was anywhere near as big as it is. There's so much to love about Kyo. I was tossing up whether to share the vintage Kimono or the Kokeshi.

There's something else really special stored on the digital camera but I can't show you that...I'm working on The Date for that one!

This is my pick of the Kokeshi. I hope when I go back it's not gone! Keep away Melbourne girls.

PS: Wish you were here...happy to be a courier for Kokeshi.

... I'm high on the hill
Looking over the bridge
To the M.C.G.
And way up on high
The clock on the silo
Says eleven degrees
Paul Kelly

A list of blogs I visit in my home town:

13 mimosa
62 cherry
acoustitch
anna laura
aprons and hammers
arthur's circus
assemblage
aunty cookie
boobook sausauge dogs
brown owls
bug and pop
cloq
craft city melbourne
curlypops
daydream lily
dear fii
drewzel
earl & cookie
h & b
handmade romance
hokey
hollabee
hoppo bumpo
jelly baby blog
jimmy trickle
kirinote
kitty's kaboodle
kaotic kraft kuties
leni & rose
lino forest
loobylu
meet me at mikes
mixtapezine
mobble gobble
nikki shell
one red robin
onegirl
pigeon pair
sheeps clothing
soozs
sugar lemon
teacups on treetops
teddy bears wednesday
the lark
thornberry
three buttons
totally innocent
whizzme
wishthimble
you SEW girl

This list is a work in progress & will be updated regularly.

You might also like to check out my:
craft blog list ... australia
craft blog list ... world wide

It's just absolutely freezing in Melbourne at the moment and increasingly difficult to drag myself out of bed in the 5s to run.

I am enjoying playing around with blanketing & yarn. Today I've been doing a bit of blanket tattooing (more on that later) which has been terrific fun.

I've also been thinking lots about this bolt of classic Melbourne grey (which I'm guessing is Doctor's Flannel), picked up at the Camberwell Market a couple of weeks ago. Of course, I don't know anything about Doctor's Flannel except that the softie queens use it so it must be good stuff.

Click image to enlarge

Thinking lots about Christmas & giving & sharing & eating & drinking & making & appreciating...

I'm trying really hard to give handmade this year & I thought this might be a good way to spread a bit of Christmas Spirit around.

The Winner Takes it all!

Vintage Father Christmas pillowcase filled with great holiday gift ideas all handmade by me from mostly thrifted/recycled materials. I think that this would cross a LOT of people off your nice list this Holiday Season. You could win the lot! I'm happy to post anywhere! You can view this image with notes on Flickr.

I like to be organised...

Here's a list of places I've been & things I've seen to help me prepare for the upcoming holidays.

COPY FROM HERE:

Still feeling totally inspired by the handmade issue of mankind mag from my favourite design blog.
Q What is the blog author's first name? ANSWER:
use the first letter - LETTER:

We like to keep lunch casual, I've found some fabulous BBQ recipes for the big day.
Q What type of meat is pictured on the rotisserie? ANSWER:
use the first letter - LETTER:

Getting some great ideas for upcycling (my favourite craft) & enjoying the revamp over at this fabulous craft website.
Q They list everyone's favourite Portland based author mama as one of their inspirational sites. Which Portland based author mama is she? ANSWER:
use the second letter of her last name - LETTER:

Looking forward to being able to buy handmade at the shopping shindig with the craft book Queen.
Q What type of car is pictured? ANSWER:
use the first letter - LETTER:

All these letters unscramble to reveal:
WHAT? is all you need.

STOP COPYING

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Have you seen something at my place that you like?

I've made a lot of stuff, hacked & re-worked a lot of stuff, found a lot of stuff & of course bought a lot of stuff too.

Some of the places I've made purchases over the years are listed here (in no particular order except to say that most of my favourite pieces have come from Step Back).

Step Back
Youngs Auctions
Camberwell Antique Centre
Camberwell Market
Maling Road Antiques
Smith Street Bazaar
20th Century Scandinavia
Arthurs Circus
Kyo
Simon Ancher
Bunnings
The Works
The Mill Markets
Op Shops
Ikea
Hard rubbish
Family "rescues"

& online
Ebay
Etsy (including but not limited to)...
Aunty Cookie, Loobylu, Bricolagelife, Vandalized Vintage, Tsk Tsk, Red Pepper Quilts, Meet me at mikes, Bellalulu, Yardage Design, Lil Sonny Sky, Gemma Jones
... for prints, soft furnishings & small vintage pieces.

at Brown Owls last night.

When we were working through our bookings through the week I wondered if perhaps I was going to be seeing a blast from my past. But...her name is not uncommon so I'd decided it was just a bit too unlikely. Of course, the girl who stitched this owl last night with an obvious level of skill passed down from her Nanna is the very same girl I spent summer holidays with as a child.

The world is so small & Melbourne - it's teeny tiny. Forget 6 degrees of separation - in Melbourne I reckon it is about 2.

Brown Owls was really lovely last night. Lots of gorgeous new faces, lots of laughs & broad smiles. It's just a really good place to be. Pip has a great blow by blow post today. Check it out & come along to the clubhouse. It's ACE!

And another thing...did you know Brown Owl has a blog now? Stop in for a cuppa.

...Just before

...24 hours after

We were away for Saturday's storm.

I told myself that the old & the new house would both be fine...I tried to believe it...I relaxed...enjoyed the night...& then went to sleep...& then drove back to Melbourne to check everything was OK...at 3am...everyone I've told thinks I'm nuts...except the two other women in my family..."would have done the same"...telling.

Hoping that my Melbourne mates are all doing OK in the mop up.

The rest of the weekend was hassle free...

at Meet Me at Mikes . The lucky last of 5. Thanks for having me Pip - it's been fun.

I've put together a few speedy quick projects of things to make from a pillowcase.

Today it's covering Tealight holders. This project is really easy & really fast - a fabulous way to present-cupboard-craft.

The pillowcase I would have used if I had the guts to hack into it.

We are having a giveaway - you could win these tealight holders. The details are at Mikes & entries close at 5am tomorrow Melbourne time. The winner will be posted here tomorrow.

Don't forget the Blog Roll comments are open until Monday morning at 5am Melbourne time.

The Heat Beads Hawkers' Market is running as part of The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

What a magical event this is!

I was lucky enough to be there to watch the Vic Market transform into a bustling Hawkers' Market (& then back again ready for this morning's regular market).

Last night the Vic Market sheds were filled with the smell of delicious Asian foods sizzling over hot coals. There was live entertainment, cooking demonstrations & tables jam packed full of people soaking in this rather magical event (& they are doing it all again tonight & Wednesday).

It's certainly an experience I'd recommend so if you're in Melbourne you should consider making tonight or tomorrow night's meal plan "The Heat Beads Hawkers' Market".

The convent is located at 1 St Helliers Street Abbotsford in Melbourne.

More information about how to get there here.

What better venue to have our quilt stitched by (mainly)women displayed than at the convent?

If you've been following the project & you're available on the 23rd we'd love to see you.

Just RSVP by replying to my RSVP comment on this post or if you're shy you can email.

The Quilt Project site will be launched on this evening also & will be live on the 24th of October.

at Meet me at Mikes.

I'm thrilled to be sharing Pip's lovely space with her over the next week.

I've put together some speedy quick projects to make using pillowcases.

Today's project is an eco-friendly shopping bag.

The best part about making this bag was watching Amy Karol's tutorial on bias tape. It is SENSATIONAL.

If you get bitten by the pillowcase bug too have a crack at some of these:

Apron

Dress

Skirt

Garment Bag

Skirts & Dresses

Laundry Bag

Fabric Scrap & Remnant Ideas – Yikes there are HEAPS here & it's a new to me site.

Handmade Parade hosted a Pillowcase challenge earlier in the year. Winner here
and you can check out the other entries here.

The pillowcase I would have used if I had the guts to hack into it. This is one of my Tier 1 pillowcases. I've only got a few that have arrived wrapped in plastic. I love the pattern & would have loved a bag made out of it. But this baby is for looking only.

We are having a giveaway - the details are at Mikes & entries close at midnight tonight Melbourne time.

Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

My smalls are not the best eaters. I'm trying to encourage them to broaden their tastes a bit. The big girl especially would happily live on white food alone! With my goal in sight I picked up some teeny asparagus at the fruit shop this week & with this image in my head set about making this for their dinner. It's more of a construction than a recipe.

They LOVED it!

Birds Nest Pasta
1 Chicken Breast
Sweet Paprika
1 bunch tiny asparagus - chopped
1 handful of mushrooms - sliced
1 egg per person
1 birds nest pasta per person

Rub Sweet Paprika into the chicken breast & pan fry. Slice finely & set aside.

Cook the mushrooms in the same frypan.

Boil water in a large saucepan. Steam asparagus & set aside. Use this water to cook the pasta.

Return the sliced chicken & asparagus to the frypan with the mushrooms & keep warm.

In a separate pan poach the eggs.

Place the pasta in the centre of the plate. Then scatter your vegie & chicken mix around the pasta. Top with the egg sprinkled with Parmesan (& cracked pepper if it's for anyone over 12).

Enjoy.

I think I'll have a couple of Stacey's cheese cubes & cocktail onions for befores & I'd kill for a Melbourne Bitter Cam. I'm so glad you guys could make it to Slide Night.
.

I am so enjoying my Tuesday morning with Auntie Pat. Although I am enjoying the knitting it's really not about that at all.

Last week we talked about Politics, lucky babies, lucky mothers, great coats, perceived inappropriate behaviour and Woolcraft Nominees* and Fantasy 8 yarn. Do you remember Fantasy 8? Are you old enough?

When the conversation turned to Fantasy 8, Auntie Pat went to retrieve her "blog". An unassuming little book. Long and thin with dog eared pages. A green marbled cover and partially perished canvas tape binding.

I knew before the first page was turned that I was going to love this body of work. It's a catalog you see, of patterns. Patterns written by Auntie Pat. Each and everyone numbered. From 1 to 1072!

And don't you worry about the original patterns. They are all filed in ring binders. In plastic pockets. In sequential order from 1 to 1072!

I have no idea what a cocktail tunic is but I know I want to make one.

*Woolcraft was Auntie Pat's shop (chain actually). They had yarn stores around Melbourne from the 60s-80s.

Yesterday was the hottest day on record in Melbourne.

The girls & I did go out a few times & when we did the smell was overpowering. The big girl looked at me with wide eyes & said "Mum, it smells like Bright" (2003 bushfires). It did.

While I was opening the blinds just enough to take trivial shots of my work in progress. My Suburban sky looked like this...

because much of Victoria was on fire. People have lost their homes, livestock & their lives.

Just as the cool change hit our place, a once beautiful town with a special place in my heart (& not too far from home) was completely engulfed.

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

heavens door.

It feels good to be home.

I have to confess to loving being in Melbourne in January. Nobody is around & there is never a wait for a table at Coffee Max.

I've made a few crafty plans...but more on that tomorrow. I've got to unpack.

same cheesecloth top.

Worn as a dress in 1978 & as a top (over bonds singlet for modesty) 2009.

Not looking as cute as I did then...

Image taken in the Fitzroy Gardens by swank Melbourne photographer (whose name escapes me).

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.