Aug 30, 2011

more bargain hunting

I bought two other things at the Antiques and Collectibles fair on the weekend.


This darling little tea cup.  I love the scalloped rim and the size of it.  The paint is a little worn and it has no saucer but for the price and what I plan to do to it, it doesn't matter.


And these three pretty (unfinished) embroideries.  I elected to purchase the unfinished ones rather than pay for more expensive, finished ones as I intend to cut them up.  (But shhhhh don't tell them that!).


 

Aug 29, 2011

vintage knitting ephemera

(there you go Mum I used the word 'ephemera' just for you)

Mum and I spent a lovely morning yesterday at a local antiques and collectibles fair.  We've been to this fair a few times previously but it's definately improved with age.  When Mum was sick a few weeks ago we spent just about every day watching solid Antiques Roadshow, Bargain Hunt, Dealers and Antiques Roadtrip.  We nearly drove Dad crazy. 
So yesterday we went armed with our best Bargain Hunt faces and were prepared to ask "is that your very best price?".  Not that we did, or really needed to.


We did strike vintage sewing gold though with the purchase of this very cute knitting needle box.  A quick peep inside showed that we would have hours of fun sorting through the heap of needles inside so we snapped it up quick smart.  After a bit of a clean and a bit of eucalyptus oil to remove sticky tape stickiness it's ready to be shown off.


It has these nifty holes in the top for sizing your knitting needles and came with this little bell-shaped sizer as well.


Many complete pairs of needles, most still in original packaging and two with these handy little row counters.


Two complete sets of double ended needles - one in plastic and one in metal.


I had two favourite finds in this box - two sets of tortoiseshell needles - one only shown here because contrary to what the label says - the knob broke off the top as I cleaned the other set.  So it's off having emergency super glue treatment.



My second favourite item was the unexpected discovery of some crochet hooks at the bottom including this lovely carved wooden one (second from the right).


All cleaned up and ready to be put on top of my stash cupboard with my other treasures.



Aug 26, 2011

Granny square blanket progress - 90 Grannies!

 

This photo is a couple of days old, the blanket now has 100 squares, but this was it with 90 Granny Squares.


I'm now busy sewing the rows together.  When I attached the squares together I only attached them in one direction, now I have to go back and sew down each column.

Aug 21, 2011

quilting in Tassie

Mum and Dad have just returned from a week in Tasmania.  I'll share the loot that Mum brought for us later but first I have to share these great photos that Mum took at Port Arthur (a historic and notorious site) of some antique textiles.

a proper rag rug, in the style my Granny apparently used to make using an old hessian sack

a scrappy grandmother's flower garden quilt - with fussy cutting and all!

applique detail from a woven fire screen

cushion made from scraps

chair pad



Mum also made lovely friends with a few Tasmanian Quilt Shop owners.  I've updated my Australian Quilt Shop list to include these new Tasmanian entries.
  



A special shout out to: Deb from the Village Sampler and the staff at Calico Crossroads!

one of the locals!  just love his colours

 

Aug 20, 2011

a little dress

I've never made a dress but I was keen to make some little sundresses for the little one.


This pattern is from an Autumn Ottobre (4/2011) and can be warn with or without a tshirt underneath.  For our summer it will be perfect on its own but as I think it will be too big for a new born it will be able to go through to Autumn with a tshirt and pants underneath.


The finish on this dress is just incredible.  Beautiful top stitching and the elastic encasing goes under the front bodice part so there are no rough seams.  And although I nearly went blind tracing out the pattern, I would definately try more of their children's clothes.

Aug 16, 2011

something for the little Guy

So that the little Guy (and you) don't think it's all baby baby baby around here at the moment I thought I should make something for him.  He takes a fairly tatty bag to kindy and I've been meaning to make him something a bit more his style.  


When I saw this tutorial the other day on Sew Mama Sew I thought it would be perfect for him.  He is especially keen on messenger style bags as his Dad carries one.

I did tamper with the tutorial just a bit and kind of did it my way as I was getting confused reading the instructions.  But the dimensions of the bag are quite good, the assembly I made up as it's pretty straight forward bag making stuff.


My mother in law brought this fabric back from New Zealand last year and it's a heavier cotton drill kind of fabric, perfect for a bag.



And here is one of our locals trying to balance his big scratchy bird claws on a very smooth round light fitting in the front yard yesterday.  I don't think it's going to work buddy!

Aug 15, 2011

I am not a craftivist

I just finished watching a documentary which aired on Australian television last night entitled 'Making it Handmade!"  This Doco was made in Melbourne in 2010 and apparently was about:  "A documentary following four women from Melbourne who've taken a seemingly staid passtime of craft and injected it with a youthful, modern aesthetic."

Now this is interesting I thought!  Following on from a piece about blogging mum's on the 6.30pm show the other night us handmadey, mumsy, bloggy types are really getting out there!

The part that puzzled me was the warnings attached to the show:  "coarse language, sexual reference, sex scenes".  WTF?  I'm laughing to myself thinking they've categorised it incorrectly!  Um no.  The first part was great, lovely little vox pops from Pip of Meet Me at Mikes fame.  Talking about handmade stuff and how it's a love of learning and passing on skills and just generally making stuff and especially connecting with other likeminded souls.  Then some wise words from another vox popper about how making a living from handmade is very difficult and how you actually get bored making the same thing over and over or virtually kill yourself and have to outsource - almost defeating the purpose.  

But then it got weird.  They started talking about activisim and feminism and political stuff and how crafting is intrisicly linked to being an activist and against the grain.  Sure a few of the crafty types I associate with are a bit left (or is it right?) of centre, but by no means are they activists.  I grow veges, I care about the environment, my husband rides a bike.  But I still own a car, I love shopping and I have a huge cabinet full of fabric and craft supplies.  And apparently, according to this doco anyway, this makes me consumerist scum - even tho I know how to knit, crochet, sew and many other crafty things.  And then there was the woman with the 'c' word.  Which I won't repeat here because I don't personally like the word and a lot of readers would find it offensive.  I just thought it was dumb and deliberately provocative for basically no reason.

So there's my tuppence worth.  The first 20 minutes were pretty good, the rest, well I'll never get that 40 minutes of my life back again.  And now I'm angry.

Being crafty is lovely and wholesome and beautiful and giving gifts that you have made or if you can't make them, purchasing them from someone who has lovingly made them, is wonderful.  That's it.  They were the dying arts and we are bringing them back and making them more accepted as a passtime rather than a necessity or a 'granny thing'.  Isn't that enough? Why do I have to burn my bra or deface public property or do pornographic embroidery???? 


Aug 13, 2011

applique on baby onepiece suits


This is another project for the bub, something I've been gathering supplies for (ie the suits) for a while.  This would make a great project for a baby shower gift and it's very cute and quick to do.  If you aren't feeling so adventurous, my friend Tyler from Baby Lux Design does sell awesome onesies with much more elaborate designs than I've done!

my first attempt at blanket stitch - be gentle with me!

Not all of my one piece suits will be girly-girly.  I tend to like little girls in anything but pink.  Or just with a hint of pink.

blogger decided my photos weren't quite funky enough so turned them upside down for me :)

I'm going to do a whole bunch of these suits because with bub being due in summer I know her brother spent nearly his first 3 months clothed exclusively in this type of thing.  I made two today one a 000 and one a 0000.  I've got a few more white suits stashed away and some green as well just awaiting embellishment.  I'm also thinking of using buttons too.

 

Aug 11, 2011

shorts to match

Thank you to everyone for your kind words yesterday, my little family are very excited by the impending new addition.  Although the little Guy did have his heart set on a baby brother he now is just anxious to get 'his' baby.


Today I made some little shorts to match the kimono top from yesterday.  I used the Kimono PJ bottoms from the Amy Butler book Little Stitches for Little Ones.  I thought the instructions were much better than the Heather Ross book however it did lack pictorial instructions which would have greatly aided.  I've made many pairs of shorts before but still managed to mess these ones up once due to lack of pictures.  Never mind, that's what unpickers are for.


And check out the cute tag - it's one of my meandmy2guys labels.



Just have to put the elastic in the waist.

Aug 10, 2011

a revelation !

Well for those of you who don't know me in person and for those who haven't guessed, now is probably a good time to make my big reveal.

In December me and my 2 guys will be joined by a new member - a little girl!  This bub has been a long time in the making and very much anticipated and eagerly awaited.  She is due 4 years to the day that her big brother was due.  He was a couple of days late and she is going to be born a couple of weeks early.


The crochet rug I've been working on is for our little girl and I've been gathering supplies for other projects I intend to complete before December.



Today I made my first baby garment, a cute Kimono wrap top.  And I've discovered another perk to making baby clothes - they are seriously quick and a great way to use up stashed fabric!

I am going to make some little shorts/bloomers to go with the top out of this blue gingham.  The pattern is from Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing.  This is the second project I've made from this book and I find the instructions a bit light-on and the yardage requirements are often incorrect.

Aug 5, 2011

please help me encourage a new blogger!

My friend Fran has had her blog for a while but hasn't managed to really get it off the ground.  But today she made her first post about a real craft thing!  She's crocheting the flower cushion that Lucy at Attic 24 recently completed.

Could you nip over to Fran's and say hi and give her a little bit of encouragement?  Thanks!

Aug 4, 2011

Granny square blanket progress - over half way!

Well the Granny square blankie is cracking along nicely!  I had completed 60 Granny squares and decided I'd better start sewing them together otherwise I'd get totally bored of the whole thing.



I used Lucy at Attic 24's method of crocheting the squares together and it worked quite well for me.


Now I just need to make a start on the final 40 squares, I think I'll make 10 at a time and attach them to the body of the blanket.

Have you worked out who I'm making this blanket for yet???

 

Aug 2, 2011

garden update

We've been having a lovely time in the garden lately.  The weather has been sunny yet cool enough to stay out for most of the day, as opposed to summer where you really have to stay indoors between about 10am and 3pm.

The other morning we woke to a cacophany of Cockatoos having a feast in our front tree.  This is usually a hot spot to hang out for the local birds but this particular morning we counted 17 Cockatoos in the tree at once!  The little Guy and I sat on the front steps and watched them for ages, one landed on our electrical wires and did a loop-da-loop cause the wire was a bit slack, it was very funny.  They also beheaded two of my three sunflowers, but that's ok!


The little Guy and I thought it would be nice to have some bird feeding equipment around the yard to encourage the birds to hang out.  So that afternoon I bought a bird feeder with seed and a sunflower seed bell thingy.  It took them a few days to find it but they finally found the sunflower seeds, as well as beheading my last sunflower. 

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