A Month of A to Z

M is for Macrame 

I love a bit of 1970s Macrame, updated with the use of fluoro twine.

A Month of A to Z

Well I've joined in with A Month of A to Z. The idea is you post something beginning with A on the 1st of December, B on the 2nd of December and so on for the whole month.  I'm not promising that I'll do all the days but I'll give it a go.  You can find out more information here if you want to join in.

Today it's C

So no contest really, C has to stand for Craft,

Christmas craft and Christmas Crackers.

 

Finished Friday

I thought it was about time I shared some of my recently finished projects.
The latest is my Sage Blouse, a wonderful free pattern from Yellowcosmo. I have wanted to make this for a while and I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I must admit after finishing the Morrish Lace pattern things did get a bit dull.  I hate doing stocking stitch, but it is good for knitting with friends over coffee when chatting can put you off your pattern.

I got this lovely yarn in a Ravelry destash. It's Louisa Harding Aimée, a blend of cotton and cashmere and very soft but beware, it is very pilly.

My other recent project was done as a favor for a friend.  She wanted mitts for her daughter because she catches the train to school and her hands have been cold on these cold Melbourne mornings. 
I didn't really have a pattern but you can see how I made them on my project page here on Ravelry. I used a 2 x 2 rib because I couldn't try them on the wearer as I went and I knew rib would make them fit a few different sizes.

This was the first time I had used Noro and I must say I now understand what all the fuss is about.  It's lovely to work with and the colours are just wonderful.  I had some yarn left over so I also made a cowl. I used another free pattern called Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama. Fantastic pattern resulting in a nice stretchy cowl which is able to be worn in a variety of ways. 
Looking at the two together you wouldn't even think they had come from the same ball of yarn.

What have you finished lately?

Sewing Sunday

I have had this fab vintage coat for years and I just love it.  I tried to get rid of it a few times but I just couldn't.
The black lining it came with had seen better days and was full of holes, I couldn't use the pockets (unless I wanted to lose what I put in them) because they also had holes. The sleeves had always been just a little on the short side and I wanted to lengthen them but just hadn't got around to it.
Well today I finally got out the lolly pink satin fabric I decided to use to re-line it and got busy. The satin had also been sitting there for quite a long time. Why have boring old black lining when you can have wonderful lolly pink!
So I ripped out the old lining and whacked in a new one. I also put a false hem on the sleeves which gained me and extra 5cm in length.

I just love this fabric, I haven't seen anything like it anywhere.

I love the new lining, it feels so good, almost like having a whole new coat.
Love a good re-vamp, have you re-vamped anything?

Vintage Sewing

Making a pencil roll for my daughter has been on my list of must do jobs for quite a while. Well I finally got around to it the other day.  I actually made two, one for her pencils and one for her crayons.  The crayon roll was whisked off to school before I even got a chance to take a photo so I cant share it with you.

I used some left-over denim I have had laying around for years and some vintage cotton drill which I picked up for a couple of dollars at a garage sale months ago.  The binding and ribbon was from my stash of trims. 

The crayon roll is essentially the same but it has places for stick crayon along one edge and block crayons along the other. 

I love it when I can make something new without having to spend any money at all.

I used wide cotton bias tape to finish all the edges.

These pencils are smaller (thinner) than the ones she uses at school.

I'm really happy with the result. What do you think, what have you made lately?

Christmas is coming.....

Busy, busy, busy today.  Making pavlovas, stuffing chickens and making Christmas Stars.  I found this wonderful tutorial over at the Magic Onions.  They are a bit fiddly to glue but the results are fantastic! You can find the tutorial here 'Hanging Christmas Stars'.

We also made some handmade Christmas Crackers.  Aishlyn wrote the jokes to go inside and we added some other little surprises.

Aishlyn also made her very first gingerbread house.

So the chicken is stuffed, the Christmas cake iced and the pavlova is ready for the cream and berries.  The only thing left to do this Christmas eve is to sit back and relax.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

Eggs, eggs, eggs!

Well Easter is here again so it's egg time.
I decided to try out dying eggs with vegetables, I used the ideas and tutorial from Twig and Toadstool.

To deal with the problem of the eggs bobbing to the top as you try to dye they, I used jars, filled them up as much as possible then screwed on the lids and left them overnight to dye.

Of course when you are working with eggs there will be the odd broken shell.

The trick is to find a use for it.

 Happy Easter to all!

Spring Nature Table

Aishlyn was excited to transform our Winter table to Spring.  She is so careful about what she wants on it and where everything should go.

I just love watching her put the seasonal table together, it is like watching a journey through her eight years of life.  She adds treasures that she has collected over the years and they all have their own place, meaning and importance. 

Mother Earth is there to take care of all the creatures and plants. I made her for Aishlyn when she was two.

The kittens which Santa gave her two years ago, play near the woollen stream about to rush across the clay bridge that Aishlyn made in class one.

The tiny doll she received in a Kinder lucky dip when she was four, is fishing in the boat made by her friend Hannah and given to Aishlyn for her 8th birthday.

 

Our ever growing family of rabbits is there watching the goings on.

The Root children sleep and wait to blossom into Flower children.

These two newcomers were given as a birthday gift to me today from my dear friend Rowena, hopefully Aishlyn approves of their addition to our Seasonal table. 

Sewing Sunday

Last Sunday was rainy and cold so once again I got out my stash of fabric and got busy.  
Using some of the Tessuti fabric I got a while ago and a vintage pattern, it was time for a new dress for Aishlyn.

I updated the pattern by using tucks, triple lines of top-stitching and removing the gathers on the back.

I didn't have a matching zip so I decided to do a button and loop opening.

This dress works well when worn like this and will be great in Summer when worn on it's own. 

Finished!

These have taken forever but at last they are finished.  It's a wonderful pattern and will fit a small hand just as well as a big one.  Aishlyn loves them so it's a battle to get to wear them at all.  Since discovering the tubular bind- off method I use it for most things.  It gives a far nicer finish. You can learn how to do it here.

Sick, sick, sick!

Well Aishlyn and I have both been stuck at home all week, sick!  And to top it off I didn't have my computer! (in for repairs) The casing had started to crack but as it's a design fault they fixed it free of charge even though it was out of warranty.
My day was brightened when I finally got to check my email and found one from Michelle at  'Kids With Crayons' with photos showing my order that she had just posted.  Love them and can't wait to get the real thing in my hands.  She uses your child's own drawings and makes them into fabulous necklaces, badges, magnets etc. 
Have a look!

Sewing Sunday

It's cold and wet outside, the perfect day for sewing.
I am using this fantastic printed Japanese cotton from Tessuti and making a pattern I have made before.  I lust love the shape in this Donna Karen skirt.  The pattern is Vogue V1038. The wide one piece waistband is so flattering.  Last time I made this skirt I used quite a heavy denim, this fabric isn't as heavy but I think it will work just as well.

 I find the most tedious part of making a garment is cutting it out.......

 But once that is done this skirt makes up in about an hour or two........

Machine sewing done, now all I have to do is the hand sewing!  Not too bad for a rainy day project.