In need of some colour?

I've been playing with linen tea towels again.

These ones were screaming out to be turned into something much more stylish than a cloth to dry dishes!

I can't seem to remember where these ones came from, but they're absolutely beautiful. (Edit: These were sent to me from the super talented Steph from Moo Bear - thankyou Steph!)
 It's one of those times when I'll take something to the market and secretly wish that no-one buys them.... just so I can keep them.
That's always my problem when I make 'one-offs'.

Photo courtesy of Becky Et Al

Just to prove that there are many more ways to use a tea towel - you must pop on over to read this post at Becky Et Al

* Handbags will be available at the Daylesford Makers Market - Saturday 27th November

Tutorial - How to make a Tea Towel Drawstring Bag

I have another tutorial printed in the Weekly Times today.

Below is the full version with photos.

Whether you're heading off for an overseas trip, or just a weekend away, making a drawstring bag for your shoes is a great way to keep them separated from the lovely clean clothes in your suitcase.

Of course, drawstring bags have a multitude of uses - so make as many as you like. They're fabulous for kids toys, keeping puzzles together, and storing precious collections.

Download the PDF

Step 1

Gather your supplies:
Tea towel
Twill tape
Large Safety Pin
Pins
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Ruler or Tape Measure
Drawstring Cord (or a piece of ribbon)

Step 2

Fold the tea towel in half lengthways, with the right sides facing together.

Step 3

Using your sewing machine, stitch a straight line down both side seams. The top remains open.
You will now have what looks like a large inside out tea towel pocket.

Step 4

Turn the tea towel back out so that it is facing the right way.

Step 5

Each tea towel will be slightly different is size, so now you will need to do a little maths.
Measure the width of the tea towel envelops and then double it (this is to calculate the length of twill tape that you will need to use).

Cut the piece of twill tape to the required length.

Fold over the edge of the twill tape on either end and run a couple of lines of stitching along to ensure that you have a neat edge on both ends.

Step 6

Pin the twill tape right around the top edge of the tea towel envelope and stitch along the top and the bottom to create a channel for your drawstring.

Step 7

Using the previous twill tape measurement, add on 30 centimetres, and then cut a piece of drawstring cord (or ribbon)  to this length.

Attach one end of the drawstring cord (or ribbon) to a safety pin, and thread it through the drawstring channel.

Step 8

Once the drawstring is evenly threaded through on both sides, tie a knot at either end to prevent fraying.

To prevent the drawstring from being removed, run a line of stitching down the side seam at the opposite side to the drawstring opening.

Step 9

Pop in your favourite pair of shoes!

Watcha Wearin' Wednesday & The Op Shop Challenge

Two birds with one stone today...

I've been following along with the op-shopping adventures over at Katiecrackernuts for quite a while now. She's been taking part in a workplace initiative to cut their carbon footprint, and has been wearing thrifted clothes to work (which she puts together with her own fabulous style).

So todays Watcha Wearin' Wednesday is inspired by Katie. Frances is wearing it for me because I only found it at Vinnies yesterday, and I haven't actually had time to wash it yet (oh, and the weather forecast is 16 degrees for today too).

I spotted it in the window when I parked my car, so I walked inside and asked the shop attendant if I could take it down and have a closer look. She just pointed and said "yes sure", so I had to unhook the hanging shop dummy, undress it, and then hook it back up in the window.

The top photo shows the actual colour - I had to use the flash for the other photo and it doesn't do it justice. It was above my usual op-shopping limit ($10) but I think it was worth it. I can't wait to road test it with a long sleeve top and jeans.

I also happened to stumble across eight lovely tea towels which apparently had only just been put out on the rack ...... right place right time!

Sweet parcels in the mail

I arrived home lastnight to find two parcels waiting for me squeezed into my little mailbox (I might need to do something about that).

I was the super lucky winner of the Selina's Vintage mystery giveaway. Well, the mystery parcel included vintage fabrics, vintage pillowcases, chenille, beautiful trims and buttons, and the cutest magnetic postcard for my fridge.

Thankyou so much Selina.... I'm imagining some gorgeous creations as I type!

.... and in the other parcel was the fabulous 1983 teatowel in brand new pristine condition from Jannimary, who won my embroidered doiley giveaway.

Thanks so much Janice!

I'd better get back to working on my Snailblazer swap goodies.... I'm running late (and blaming the horrible lurgy).

Loot Glorious Loot - Day 6

Onto day 6, and the Lootfest continues....

Jess from Button Beauty popped this gorgeous old teatowel in the mail for me this week. My little sister was born in 1976, so I might have to whip something up for her with this beauty!

I'm very excited today because the Thornbury Craft Bonanza girls are coming to visit for our monthly craft-a-palooza. I made a quick trip to the shops yesterday to pick up the required chocolate supplies, so everybody should be happy.... now I should probably try to clean up some of the mess in my craft space to make room for everyone....

PS - More looters here

Orange and Green should always be seen - Part 2

There seems to be a common theme running through some of my creations.....

The sweet little work in progress donkey tea towel is now a funky apron with vintage sheeting panels and polka dot straps.

Perfect for making some classic 1970's fare..... Devils on horseback anyone?

Eye Spy.....a work in progress

Todays Eye Spy from Hugo and Elsa is a work in progress.

I was going to show you all of the boxes that are still sitting around the house waiting to be unpacked.... but that wouldn't be very interesting now would it?

Instead, I'm showing crafty works in progress.


My crafty works in progress are a little non-existent at the moment.... I tried to get rid of them all when I moved house, and now I'm specifically trying to start and finish one project at a time. Otherwise, I tend to get halfway through something, get bored, start something else, and then never go back and finish.

This is what I'm working in right at this very moment (well I would be if I wasn't on the internet reading blogs)!

A lovely vintage tea towel on the way to being transformed....

Lots more Eye Spy here

Eye Spy....a surprise

I'm a day late, but I received a lovely surprise in the mail last Thursday..... just in time for Easter, Jan from Running Thread sent me a lovely kitsch tea towel wrapped up in easter egg fabric with a little easter egg card. How cute is that???

It was Jan's birthday on Friday, and I'm sure she'd get a wonderful surprise if we all headed over to her blog and wished her a belated happy birthday.

Thanks to Cindy for being the reigning Eye Spy Queen, and to Miss Muggins for this weeks theme.

PS - Head over to Miss Muggins for some lovely giveaways too!

Love Fridays......Love Mail

I love when the mail man delivers pretty packages to my door....

....like this beautiful Itty Pouch from Lisa at The Princess and The Monkey......

I was soooo excited about the pending arrival. It's just perfect to fit lots and lots of my business cards (no more cluttering up my purse), and it was wrapped up in a lovely piece of fabric too!

Lisa has an Etsy Shop and a Made It Shop where you can find these gorgeous Itty Pouches. They would be a perfect gift for someone special.

Just to make the day even better, I received an email last week from Peta.

Peta's grandmother Pearl had received these tea towels from a friend who went to Malta. Peta had no use for them so she offered to send them to me. How sweet is that?

A huge huge huge thankyou to Lisa and Peta for making my Love Friday

All the way from the UK

An amazing parcel landed on my doorstep yesterday, all the way from the UK! It was huge, and jam packed with crafty goodness.

Lynsey from Swirly Thoughts and Cuteable had a stash of lovely touristy tea towels in her cupboard which she most generously offered to send me. It was a bit difficult to fit them all in for a photo but here's a list:

London
Poole Quay
Christchurch NZ
Fleet Air Arm (which I'm assuming is the British Forces)
Blackpool
Corfu
Operations Ovelord Commemorative (British Forces)
Lancashire
Cornwall
Vancouver Canada

.....and the piece de resistance


...this one which was actually designed and printed in Australia! It's been around the world and returned home again.

There were also some beautiful buttons and trims.....

....and this set of bird napkins. I've fallen in love with the blackbird in the orange blossom tree so I'm going to make myself something special with that one.

Thankyou so much Lynsey....keep an eye out for all of these beauties to be transformed into funky aprons! I just wish you could have included a bit of your weather....it's faaaaar toooooo hooooooot today.

Love Fridays.....Silly Gilly's Sweet Surprise

It's easy to Love Friday today!

I arrived home from my pulmonary rehab class to find a mystery package in my letterbox with no sender details on the envelope.... hmmm what could it be?

A gorgeous vintage tea towel from the oppy!

Gillian went on a road trip from SA to Ballarat last week for the Trashalou blog meet. Lucky for me, she stopped in at the op shops on the way. Thanks so much Gillian, this one will be absolutely gorgeous as an apron.

If you haven't already entered, then don't forget to head over to the Silly Gilly blog and enter this fantastic mystery giveaway to celebrate Gillians 101th (yep 101th - that's not a typo) post.

....and of course, head over to Tinniegirl to join Love Fridays!

Even more tea towel transformations

Last week Liz sent me these gorgeous Sunbeam tea towels to transform into aprons. My photos are not great but I was using the self timer at dusk before I popped them back in the post.
I used some vintage florals at the sides of these ones, and then trimmed them and made straps using some lovely polkadots.

Head on over to the Lino Forest for a much better look, they look great in Liz's funky kitchen