Knitting Needle Holder

I made a roll to keep knitting needles in.
Some of them at least...

Layered pretty floral with vintage heavier turquoise and some white and turquoise striped cotton materials and sewed then RS together, then turned them trough so the long strip was lined.
Then, sewed some channels on the turquoise side, and stamped sizes onto vintage belt lining, cut it into squares and vliso-fixed each one to a channel.
It is all tied up with lovely tape measure binding that S4 gave me for Christmas last year.

Here are some little photos of the progress:

How much better, eh!


I was inspired by the roll I made for my lovely pens and pencils (again - SOME of them!!)

The Doona Solution

For years I have climbed inside the doona cover and then grasped the bottom corners of the doona and backed out, turning the doona cover inside out with the doona inside. And after a shake it is all beautifully flat and ready to sleep under.

I don't know why I thought of this - but it started cos I dyed a heap of ratty white (ish) t-shirts denim/indigo blue and am (still) cutting them into spiral strips with the long term plan of knitting something with the ensuing yarn. There were about 15 t-shirts so it is a lot of cutting.

BUT THEN!!!!!

What if I sewed a loop of the t-shirt yarn to those two bottom corners of the doona, and two long strings (actually one sewn in the centre to make two) to the inside bottom corners of the doona cover then all I would have to do is tie the long strings to the loops, flap the lot and instantly the doona is inside doona cover!!!

So I did it:

Easy as. and yes, it is a slightly grubby doona, but it is old, and it is way too cold and wet to worry about washing it now. I shall do that when summer comes around again...

(Obviously before I dyed the t-shirts., too)

PS - this is for you, Hayden so you wont ever have to struggle with your doona and cover ever again!

Hussif

I made a hussif for S4 to take to Germany with him. It has little pockets for press studs, elastic, velcro dots, and whatever, and cute little cylinders to hold the tiny reels of thread, and buttons sewn on individually so he can cut them off as needed, pins, needles (already threaded...), safety pins.

Felt on the inside, and pretty Phasgogale Dreaming (tiny flying possum creatures) Aussie material on the outside to remind him of home.

That gorgeous tape measure tape? He and his girlie gave me that for my birthday present last year (along with lots of other treasures). Appropriate ties for this hussif I reckon!

Clever tiny bows

 

I made tiny bows using a tutorial I found online, but a video is an easier way of learning to make them. 

If you can get over those nails...her's, not mine. French nails should only have a sliver of white on them otherwise they look a bit scary. And what do all the books say about 'file to an oval'???  Check out mine - they are perfect (hahaha)...

Here is the video:

And then I added them to undies so they look cute.
And so you don't put them on backwards (tho these are gs so you would probably notice pretty quickly if they were on backwards...).

I sent them to my SIL cos she has a skinnier bum than I do, but they were also too small for her. (Whew).

SILK ribbon, too.
Very cute.
Another one of my great grandmother's forks put to good use!

Material Give-away

Beach Vintage are setting up a lovely new online shop and have HEAPS of lovely materials - for example ALMOST SIXTY oilcloths! and over a hundred gorgeous patchwork weight cottons.

They are having a give-away to celebrate and I am supposed to pick my favourite fabric, but to be honest I love 'em all. I would be able to do something with any of the materials depending on the length.
Give me a bundle of FQs and I will leap into making a quilt (yeah, yeah, I know - I am sick but I am not going to be malingering for ever, duh), or a few metres and there are quite a few vintage patterns at home that I can make up a lovely foofy 1950s frock, or about eleventy one metres of some furnishing stuff and I will make slipcovers for The Couches for a summery look (cos they are red jacquard velvety sort of winter flavoured material.
So nip over to http://www.fabrictraders.com.au and have a squiz at their yumminesses.

I tried to drag photos of all of these - sorry but you wil have to click on the links to be able to drool!

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/kenyan-tea-leaf-by-alexander-henry-56 is one of the Alexander Henry patterns I think would be a lovely vintage frock although just about any of the Alexander Henry's would be at home on my shelves (and then in my creations...).

And look at THIS with lovely sedate floral background but with black cockatoos splashed over it! http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/cockatoo-lipstick-pink-197

Then a Moda with lovely line drawings that would be gorgeous on my big old Snuggle Chair which needs reupholstering anyway - http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/moda-masion-194

Or a Kaufman which looks so old-fashioned it could only be in the kitchen, with splashes of red to accent the gorgeous 1950's jade green background - http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/happy-homemaker-in-green-542

Then another big blousy floral roses which has to be a 1960's frock - http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/flower-garden-rose-by-martha-negley-172ias

OH - and they also have all sorts of trims, bias binding etc, too.

After all that, how can I possibly choose my favourite????

AAAAGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been sick.
I am still sick.
Furthermore, I am sick of being sick.

My GP discovered 4 weeks ago that I have enormously HIGH blood pressure. (190/100 if that means anything to you). On to a couple of cardio drugs, but two weeks later my BP was still up there in the clouds.
So she added a beta blocker.
As a consequence my BP plummeted, as did my pulse rate and I started to fall over whenever I stood up too quickly. Or even slowly. Cold white fingers, pins and needles, absolute lethargy, etc...
Had to get The Sweetheart to take me in to A&E on Saturday (cos I drove off the road the last time I drove the Iced Volvo...).

So now I am off the beta blockers, and am on bed rest until I go to see her again in a couple of days. Then an ultrasound on my heart and a brain scan cos I may have had one of those cute little strokes. And to see an industrial strength cardiologist.
Bugger.
My heart has been foolish since the last couple of bee stings where I arrested, before that my BP used to be a lovely 90/60. Thank goodness for my Epipens - now I carry TWO to keep me going until the ambulance gets to me.

So, I am not sewing.
I have a hexagonal stars all cut out and a bit sewn together to make for a young friend who has scary melanoma, and a bag for my sister for her birthday (which was only a couple of weeks ago, and she isn't expecting a pressie so that is OK).
The quilt is a lovely Sarah Fielke pattern from her new "Quilting from little things..." - Stars in Your Eyes.
This was featured in last month's Better Homes and Gardens mag - Sarah writes about it here but I also bought her fabulous book in April. For each of the patterns she has an achievable mini quilt as well as the larger one.
The bag I am making for my next sister is from Julia Davis and Anne Muxworthy's "Easy Japanese Quilt Style". This is a link to the book, however not the book I have but one which has the bag I am making as the cover pic (how lucky was that - now I don't have to explain it!!!).

BUT the enforced bed rest has had an up-side.
I did discover Pinterest which is such good fun. It is a website that acts like a pin board where you can 'pin' your favourite photos. Each 'board' can have a different title so you can group your faves. I have one Board that is my home as it is, followed by another Board for the dreamings and desires!
There are LOTS of lovely links to all sorts of craft stuff, quilts, architecture, pets, fashion, pretties, some GREAT photo-journo links to some of the war zones I either went to or dodged...
I don't have to worry about making things at all. I can just explore other people's creations and then Pin them!!!
Here is my link to Pinterest. There are some of my own pics in my quilts and sewing Board as well as my home.

I am cuddled up in bed, lovely and warm cos of the little notebook whirring away on my lap, and lovely cosy flannel sheets, and snugly jarmies. Outside today it is 4* (at noon) and sleeting and hailing instead of snowing. It is good to be so warm on such a day (and it is apparently going to get colder over the next few days...).
I will keep you posted.

Sewing, sewing, sewing!!!

Here is a wiki page with all the secrets of international sizing exposed!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_13402

I have been hunting out lots of different patterns for summer clothes - including what to wear to the Porsche Club Ball next month.

I am rather leaning towards this Butterick Retro with it's big flowy skirt and long wide wrap-around waist ties:
http://butterick.mccall.com/b4919-products-5273.php?page_id=152
You will have to go and look at it - can't seem to be able to whip an image from the site (but then I AM using the tiny notebook which is so small it hasn't learned to do some things...!).

And then I discovered this site:
http://m-sewing.com/
So very many FREE downloadable patterns there for just about everything you could desire to sew. Women's, men's, girls' and boy's patterns and everything from underwear to raincoats!
You possibly wont hear from me for a while...

Yeah, I AM here...

I know, I know - it has been along time since I posted (almost two weeks).
It has been hot (again) though we did have a bit of rain last week, lovely cooling refreshing rain. And more forecast for later in the week. I hope it buckets down, everything is so dry and thirsty. And the tanks took a beating with five extra Beez here the other week, too. (Have you been to see them yet? Check the entry below for their link. AND keep an eye out for their appearance on Spicks and Specks, too).

I am not very good with hot weather, I have just been crawling on to the coolest bed (downstairs with mud brick walls on three sides and lots of books insulating the fourth, as well as my studio with tonnes of insulating fabric above... And then I read. I also dream of making things. Have dragged out some patterns for a few frocks I would like to make. Given that two of them are Issey Miyake patterns - which take about 120 metres of material for their clever folded construction - it may be some time before they are made.
If ever...

In lieu of actual sewing I found this wonderful and instructive 1948 vid on Youtube:



and this is the second episode:



I agree - she needs to lose that loser BF ("I have a wonderful idea Betty - why don't you and the girls hold a fashion show to raise funds for new crap THE BASKETBALL TEAM?" Why not raise funds so they can buy more material???? Or buy alcohol to go with the girlie party, or an overlocker, or a full length mirror?

See you when the cool change happens...

Busy busy busy!!!!

I have been so busy the last week or so...
Have had The Beez from Berlin staying with us. They were playing at Newstead Live! festival last weekend but were heere for longer. An absolute delight to have around - and better still! they are returnign whilst on their travels.
They are performing all over the East Coast of Oz, and then some - Adelaide (Spiegeltent) and Darwin, and up to Brissie, Toowoomba etc. Check out the link above for gig dates and get along.
Terribly good - slick and tight performers of everything from very serious (I think) German and Russian songs to farcical skits of all sorts of classics...
AND - they will be on Spicks and Specks some time soon.

I remade a frock of Jula's - it was too cosy under the arms with a way too modest neckline.
So I recut it, and fortunately had more wide dark blue cotton ric-rac in my stash to match the 1960s stuff around the hemline.
This is Jula in her remade 1960's frock. She plays bass in the band, and has a Masters in Theology... (Oooh that sounds like a dating thing - she doesn't need a date!)And here she is on stage:
Check out the boots...

Friday Flaunt

I got my sewing mojo back!!!

Because it has been so lovely and cool (only about 30*) I have been sewing.
I made a quilt top on the last two afternoons.
I had some Mary Engelbright Jelly Rolls from Miss Vikki Frou Frou when she was having her clean-out.
I used this pattern from Piece N Quilt. She only used one Jelly Roll, and I had TWO. HOORAY!!!!
My quilt therefore is much larger, 66" x 80", it will come down a bit with quilting. Or may go up a bit if I add another border...
(If you are unaware of just what a Jelly Roll is here is an explanation).


Last night, when it was hanging from the Design Balcony I saw that I should have got anal about the stripes. Because I had two JRs I could have extended the colours in the border so they matched up with the centre panel. In the bottom row I fluked a blue, pink and green, and a red, green and pink in the top row.
Last night I thought about unpicking and resewing it so it all matched up.
But I had had a few Bloody Marys - now that I have sobered up I realise it would be a really silly thing to do...
This is a detail of the flowers. Yet to sew them on, and there are also leaves to add, but I ran out of vliesofix. The flowers are raw edge, but I made the stem the same way as the pattern said.

I got immensely clever with the mitred corners.
They aren't mitred at all, but striped panels cut in half diagonally, swapped around and sewn back together.

Five strips are 10.5" wide (close enough to 10" which is what the border panel widths are). Make four of these, same colours in the same places. (But better if they are diff materials tho for that scrappy look).
Cut two of the panels from top left to bottom right and the other two from top right to bottom left. Swap 'em around and sew the centre seam.

Join them to the ends of the side panels and then on to the quilt. I sewed the top and bottom panels on first.
Because the top is made from Jelly Rolls then the measurements are easy. It is just multiples of 2.5".
There is a fraz of fudging on the half square triangles which are the corner units - because you lose a bit in the centre seams. But nothing a bit of steam and some judicious stretching whilst sewing wont fix...

And this is how clever the corners look:


I saved all the white background strips for the binding, and there are a couple of bits of side border, two lengths of red and some scraps from the flowers and trimmings to add to the backing.

The JRs are Baskets of Flowers by Mary Engelbreit for Moda.
The backing is going to be Pantone 3005U which is a lovely 1940s era blue.

(BTW, I borrowed The Sweetheart's Pantone Guide. It is a wonderful tool. And you could spend hours playing with their website...)

This quilt reminds me of Mum's aprons.

Sewing

This is Hans Heysen's painting of his wife Sally at her sewing machine. There is a Hans Heysen exhibition at the Hobart Museum and Art Gallery at the moment.

I wonder what she is sewing?

Happy New Year, too. 2010 is going to be a ripper. There will be some more give-aways here too. I also have my Pay It Forward to do.
Soon.

eBay Delights!

Since I bought the John Watts quilting frame etc back in June I have been slowly getting the hang of eBay.
Watching LOTS of stuff, and even bidding on a couple of things. Usually at the very last moment - I have been to enough auctions to know not to push up prices half way through an auction...

Recently, I bought ten Barbie dolls for $26 (woohoo- after spending $4,000 of Noela's money on the John Watts frame etc that was a good way to get the hang of a second auction!).
I have been making clothes for them from the Enid Gilchrist Teen and Fashion Dolls book and they will be for all the great nieces, and Moo the GK for Christmas pressies.
They are all gorgeous, and the seller had washed AND SHAMPOOED their hair and their clothes were all clean and a couple of them even had shoes (tho Trevor ate one I later discovered. Naughty Barbie thing must have kicked it off while I was taking the photo out in the garden...)

Next, I got a pair of the most delightful little Japanese dolls for $10.

They came from Tasmania near Noela's place so she picked them up for me.
While I was waiting for her to organise collection with the seller I bought a great stack of Lego blocks for Noela to hand on to her grandies as well. That was about 250 pieces for $20.

Aren't the dollies gorgeous? I have yet to touch them but Noela said they are really lovely. I thought they would be lovely toys to have when (future) grand kids come to visit. (There were special toys at Nana's for us to play with - a Mammy Doll with gold hoop ear rings, and a topsy turvy Red Riding Hood and Wolf, a long legged clown and an elephant. Nana had made them all.).


Last night I bought two quilt tops...
When I got the notice from eBay I realised I "knew" the seller. She is an Axe Murderer quilter who wrote to congratulate me on buying the John Watts.

This is the link to her blog with photos of the tops she sold last night. I haven't met her except here on the Net.

I got the lovely square one with yellow stars on purple and print which has coffee cups all over it; and the red Hunter's Stars on green background. As she says in her post last night that it wouldn'tbe possible to make them for the price they all sold for.

I rather wanted the autumnal coloured pineapple - for The Sweetheart's Dad for his summer quilt. It would match the flannel one I made him when he first moved in to Happy Paddocks Retirement Village. However, it went very high - as much as I paid for the first two tops.

She says she has 50 more to quilt. I don't feel so bad about the 13-ish WIPs I have here... And I want her to send me a label so I can acknowledge her creativity when I quilt the tops.

I have got such bargains. I will have to sell something, but I really can't see what is going to make me any money when things are so cheap!!!! There ARE lots of quilty books that I have outgrown so they really may be the first things I flog off...

I love aprons!!!

Mum always wore an apron, usually with her wedding ring pinned to the bib with a nappy pin. One frosty winter morning she got back from milking and discovered her wedding ring was missing.
Back in the 1960s it was a dreadful thing to not be wearing a wedding ring - particularly with six little kids trailing along behind like a duck train. I think Mum wore her engagement ring back to front when we went to town, church etc so she wouldnt be branded a Scarlet Woman (not that it would have mattered - everyone knew who she was! But it mattered to her). Until about six months later she saw something glinting in the dust of a hot summer morning as she was struggling back with a couple of buckets of warm frothy milk - and there was her wedding ring.

Mrs Prange from Mittyack made most of Mum's aprons. She had even more kids but they were a bit more spread out and older and able to look after the younger ones, so she had time to whip up aprons. I guess she made thousands over the years. Always full aprons with sensible ties and bibs and a useful pocket or two for hankies and little kids' treasures.

Remember this apron I wrote about a few months ago?



I found a lovely give-away apron to celebrate Goosegirl's 100th posting.

You can find out about her give-away here.

Isn't this gorgeous? It is rather similar to the old pattern I lust after. In fact Goosegirl copied it from an ancient flour bag apron that used to belong to her MIL.

Seven Shirts - Seven Steps Quilt

This is a wonderful plan for a wonderful quilt from The Thrifty Quilter:
http://thethriftyquilter.blogspot.com/2009/06/seven-shirts-seven-steps-one-thrifty.html

I have been collecting shirts from the Op Shop - some of them were too good to slice up (the RM Williams and Rivers ones that don't look as tho they have been worn. Washed and hung in The Sweetheart's wardrobe!) and also so very difficult to find nice ones that don't have a slash or more of polyester in them.

I will add a photo of the shirts I got later on, but here is what it will look like very soon!

(I just dragged this photo from Thrifty Quilter's blog so it is prob far too large. I will resize it if so, but not from this laptop but when I get back to my place and on the Mac (which is so much easier to use...).

Not having any luck with dragging a small photo so just go to the link and check it out - is 9 patches and snowballs and looks very clever!

When I crack the shits...

Yeah, sometimes I really crack it and burn a bridge or two.
Not very often, however.

Nearly three weeks ago I cracked it and deleted my Facebook account.

AND NOBODY HAS MISSED ME. Well, one person did, but ten days later.

I started on Facebook years ago, maybe when it was only six months old.
There were only small thousands of people on, and no Scrabble, or Wordscraper, nor any of the stupid applications, viz who are you going to marry/how many children/what famous person were you last time around/will be/what wild animal are you (will be eaten by), blah blah.
Not to mention all the other foolish farms, fairies, sheep, fuck knows. All sorts of stupidity.

I had hundreds of friends (most of whom I know in real life too) and it was taking me half an hour every morning just to 'hide' all the idiot applications that other people had taken on in the previous 24 hours.
And then I had to see what everyone was up to, and check photos, and comment on both, answer mail...
It began to take up far too much time.

So, one evening I had one martini too many and scrubbed me from the face of Facebook. I am still alive however!

I miss everyone's photos.
Nothing else, though.

And that is an inspiration for me to start adding photos to my gallery again. Not that I have yet - but I shall start with photos of Maldon Folk Festival this weekend.

And if you do miss me on Facebook then just email me and we will be REAL internet friends again!!!!

Today I won my second thing on eBay. A handful of ten Barbie dolls. I have been making Barbie doll clothes from my Enid Gilchrist book and having so much fun I reckon I shall make a wardrobe and dollies for all the great nieces I have, and for Moo too for their Christmas presents.
Never had a Barbie when I was growing up, no dolls at all actually.

Ooroo - maybe my Friday Flaunt will be the clothes I have made so far.
Or what I did this week.
Or something else...

Upcycling

I really love upcycling stuff.

Today's Friday Flaunt isn't about me but for a bloke called Brian Dettmer. I think he is an American tho this gallery with his art made from found stuff is in Barcelona:
http://www.mitobcn.com/brian/brian.html



Isn't this a wonderful use of all those old cassettes you no longer use? Check out the photos of his clever pieces. I want a skull!

You can find out more about upcycling just by having a Google or by looking here, here or here.

Look at what you can do with your old credit cards (or even your new ones to stop them getting fatter...):
I know quite a few performers who would love picks like these ones!

Oh dear, now I shall be here for hours looking at one of those links above (http://recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/).
Sigh!

I have been spending lots of time recently looking at home improvement type sites, and for building stuff, and creating treasures from junk (which is what upcycling is all about really).

Sites such as http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ and it's associated sites on technology and green stuff; a Better Homes & Gardens site for budget decorating; and the DIY and green pages here.
Casa Sugar has great Before and After pics, and Junk Market Style is pretty inspiring too!

We went to a Clearing Sale last Sunday in Campbell's Creek - a couple of deceased estates. So very tempted to buy boxes of china, and crappy chairs to reupholster, and tins of nails and screws.
But I didn't.

BUT - I did buy two small chests of drawers for $10.

And a mighty fine Singer sewing machine also for $10.

The machine is in a desk-cabinet with delicate pencil legs, and a little flip down drawer at the front, it came with it's box of attachments and instruction manuals. The electricals need a bit of TLC - the bakelite power plug has some bare wires hanging at the south end for example...

Have yet to clean it up. It was made on November 17, 1950 in Clyde (Scotland). It is very small - 12" from the top of the plate on the LHS to the top of the wheel. Is it a Featherweight? It is a 99K model.


I am sanding down an old door to put between the two chests to make a desk. And thento build two storage cabinets to go on top of that on either side of the window in my studio.
The next step in the plan is to put a shelf across the top of the window, and then add shutters on the window - it faces West and gets very hot in summer. Usually I cover it with wool batting to insulate it when the weather warms up.

And look at Trevor flat out soaking up the sun!
He is settling in really well. He was so timid for the first week or so. I put my hand up to scratch my head and he fell over with terror. I think he has been belted a bit in his life.
He is a very sweet little dog. Now, when he thinks it is time for his dinner he comes and sits by his bowl and waits for me to notice him. He wakes me in the morning so I can let him out for a little run and then (only then) does he hop up on my bed and go back to sleep with me. Otherwise he is on his own bed downstairs.
Mum said he wasn't a Jack Russell but a Tenterfield Terrier which suits me fine! I am so glad I rescued him. He and Jake continue to get on so well together, wrestling and playing chasies whenever The Sweetheart brings him up.

Smellie 4 came up last week and did some fencing to stop Trevor bolting off, but now he knows this is his home so he doesn't wander at all any more. He did run away a couple of times at the beginning, scaring me totally!
Anyway, the fencing will keep the kangaroos out of the garden. I have LOTS of seeds turning into seedlings, and it is all very encouraging. That can be next posting...

I just realised that this is really all about upcycling for me too.
The lovely sewing machine, and the chests of drawers, and Trevor the Upcycled Dog.
Not to mention me and The Sweetheart. We are Upcycled Loves!!!!

Friday Flaunt #1

And because my brother Lew and his wife went to Europe on Tuesday I made a travel diary for Felicity to take with her.
She is an artist, and will be able to use it to make little drawings and paintings and notes for all the wonderful places they are visiting in Denmark, Germany, Italy, France and England.It is felt appliquéd and embroidered, with cunning pockets and pouches for all sorts of interesting bits. This pouch on the back has a little paint box.
The inside covers have paint brushes, a graphite pencil and a very lovely black felt pen with three nibs - fine, Japanese brush and a chisel end. There are some buttons added in case there is a garment malfunction - with a safety pin, needle and tiny reel of thread tucked in, too.
There is a length of useful elastic buttoned on to the back which flips around to the front to keep it all closed and to hold in all the extra bits of brochures, postcards, souvenirs they collect on their travels.
It was good fun to make!

PS In 2013 Lew and Felicity are planning to cycle around Europe for three months. Anyone is welcome to join in for as long as your legs hold out whether it is for the whole three months or for a few days. We will be there!