paper.string.cloth

Moving time....

2007-08-28T20:18:00.000+10:00

Ok gang,

The Time Has Arrived......

Please wander over to my new blog, and welcome me into my new home!

You can find it here:

NEW BLOG!!!

Notice how I'm making sure you'll go over there just to find out what the new name is???

heh heh heh.....

Anyways, I'd love it if you'd all change your bloglines or bookmarks or however the hell you keep tabs on me, and come on over for a drink.

There's just a welcome post up there at the mo', but the Quilt tutorial is done, and I'll post that tomorrow.

Cool!

Thanks guys....

xxxx

Swapping Makes The World Go 'Round...

2007-08-24T17:10:00.000+10:00

I don't mind a bit of a swap. As long as it's for the right kind of thing. And making a cathedral window quilt makes this swap perfect:

You can join in yourself, if you want, over at Red Headed Snip it
xxx

Thrifted Tuesday....

2007-08-23T21:30:00.000+10:00

Is open for business over on Flickr......
Feel free to join up and share your Thrifty Finds.....
You can find the group Here.
xxx

They Try to Make Me Go to Rehab, I Say No, No, No....

2007-08-23T17:35:00.000+10:00

Thrifted Tuesday!
Again, on a Thursday......
Turns out, I've got a Partner In Crime.....
Evil Thrifters... taking over the world in second hand shoes and refashioned frocks....he he he

Anyways, onto the goods...

For the price of half a metre of quilting fabric from my local quilting shop - this whole pile of brilliant cottons:

I'm especially fond of the blue and white spot with the green cherries......oh and That Leopard Print - I'm a sucker for animal prints, I love their trashy, nouveau-riche socialite value....brilliant..

Second up is a simple polka-dot t-shirt for work, paired with some plastic/fantastic yellow beads:

I swear, I'm going through a Second TennagerHood...... I've been a Melbourne Influenced Black is the new Black wearer for years (augmented by my large stage as a Punk), and now suddenly, it's all about colour, and plastic stuff, and bright shoes, and skinny jeans.......lord, what's happening to me?????

Anyway, harkening back to my roots now, my little heart leapt when I saw this, for $1:

Think of the Ginger Fluff Sponge, people!
I learnt how to cook out of books like these - simple, economical food for country people, stodgy and weird - things like trifle and christmas cakes full of booze, pavlova and sponges, bread and butter pudding, the works.
Being vegetarian, the meat section is truly terrifying, but I love it nonetheless.....

And there you have it... the thrift haul o' the week.

In other news, I've been rearranging the kitchen, making way for my new purchase:

Which neccesitated a complete rearragement of the Teacup Collection:

Taking photos of which was just an excuse to share a snippet of the vintage crockery collection!

I've also branched out in the knitting stakes, and puchased a new pattern from Six and a Half Stitches, a gorgeous flap front babies' cardigan with fabric details - a true favourite amongst readers of Alison's Blog. I'm going out on a limb here, knitting with a pattern and all, so expect lots of call-outs for advice! Hopefully I'll manage to get a passable version knitted for the new addition to the family, via my sister, who is due sometime in October......

Phew! A big post after a little break!

The blog moving plans are still going ahead, and I'm expecting to move very soon, plus the quilt tutorial is on it's way, but I'm going to save it for the new location.......plenty of plans in the works...

Cheers m'dears - Leah xx

Oh, and the lyric in the title? Amy Winehouse. I cannot get her songs out of my head.....

Onwards and Upwards....

2007-08-20T16:54:00.000+10:00

Hi Everybody,

Just a quick post today to say thankyou to everyone who has been in touch about the Big Name Change......

Your support and encouragement means the world to me, thankyou.

I've come up with a new name, googled it a thousand times, and I've lived with it for a week, and decided it's The One.
Now I'm setting everything up in the background, so that when I switch over, it will run as seamlessly as possible.

Hopefully I'll be all sorted out in the next couple of days.

I can't even begin to express my gratitute that my regular readers, and some new, warmly welcomed ones have taken the time to let me know that I have your support, and that the coincedence of the similar names was nobody's fault, and just One of Those Things.

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou.

I'll keep you all posted!

Cheers,

Leah xx

On the Horror of the Collective Unconscious....

2007-08-17T01:46:00.000+10:00

I am a firm believer of the theory of the Collective Unconscious. An Idea first floated by Carl Jung, in laymans terms, it reflects that as a species, the human race can tap into a common experience, an ether like state of being where all the ideas, hopes, dreams, and fears of each individual are accessible to each of the others. In this theory, as soon as one individual has an idea, a hope, a dream, a fear, it immediately becomes part of the collective unconscious, and thus available to all other humans on the planet.

It is this tapping into the collective pool of ideas that enables people on other sides of the world to come up with the same idea, almost simultaneously. This is how fear spreads, or a sudden obsession for yellow, how the world comes around to certain ideas, that, in the way we have of deciding, have found their time.

When Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution, and published his first paper on it, a little known priest, Gregor Mendel, had already come to some of the same conclusions about natural selection by growing thousands of pea plants in his garden.

In the 70's, George Harrison admitted to "subconsciously plagiarising" the 60's girl group the Chiffons, after similarities between his hit My Sweet Lord, and their song, He's So Fine came to light. Harrison maintained that he hadn't plagiarised the song on purpose, but that the melody could have infiltrated his head whilst he was writing My Sweet Lord......

My point?

Well, I'm not sure, really. Except for the fact that I was found by another blogger, who I had no knowledge of previously, who started her blog in January this year, while I started mine in March.

Her blog name? cloth.paper.string.

My blog name? paper.string.cloth.

note please, that BOTH are spelt in lowercase letters with full stops between them.

The similarity ends with the names, we are, after all, completely different women, on different sides of the planet, but there you have it.

Collective Unconscious? Serendipity? Unconscious Plagiarism?

As the party with the latter starting date, and thus, all the onus, iut looks as though I am going to have to change my name.

The bugger of it is, that I originally wanted paper.SCISSORS.cloth, but I googled it and found out it was very close to the name of a quilting magazine. Seems this name wasn't to be either.

Anyway, dear readers, if you have any suggestions for the complete naming overhaul, please let me know.

And to Sarah, I am so sorry to have put you through the horror of thinking that someone out there was stealing your well thought out, snappy blog title for their own benefit. When you got in touch with me, my heart fell to the floor.

I believe in the Collective Unconscious, people, but I don't believe in stealing ideas.

Hope you're all having a gorgeous sunny day, any helpful commments at this point would be greatly appreciated.

xxx

Retail Therapy....

2007-08-17T00:14:00.000+10:00

Yep. That's right. I bought a new washing machine. (actually, I interest-freed it, which isn't really the same thing, but whatthehell...)

It's an LG washer/dryer combo, which to me sounds rather terrifying, but they insist it works, so I'll have to trust the whitegoods gods on that.

After endless trips to the laundromat, and/or trying to tempt the old washing machine to take on more than a pair of socks without throwing a tantrum, I finally reneged, and just went and got a new one.

And, as I am defiantly still clinging onto my Twenties, I refuse to get too excited over the prospect of Properly Clean Clothes, steam and refresh cycles, and fluffy towels. Surely it is the absolute right of the 28 year old woman to bite her thumb at whitegoods and buy a handbag or some shoes or an ipod instead.

Alas, I have been saying for a long time that I am an eighty-something year old woman trapped in a twenty-something's body.

The truth always comes out in the wash, or so they say.

In other news, my Best Friend In The Whole World gets married on Saturday, and I'm not going to be there, so Katie, my love, have a fabulous day.

It's been raining, so no quilt tutorial yet.....but soon...!
xxx

Ta....

2007-08-15T21:34:00.000+10:00

First of all, before I go into anything else, I wanted to say a big thankyou to all the people who commented on my quilt in the last post. It was so nice to get emails and comments, and requests for tutorials, and I'm still quite crap at replying to everyone in person, so please take this as my personal thankyou......

Today, like many days in this household, began with eggs.

So weird to think that I used to be vegan, and the very thought of eggs was enough to make me gag....now I eat them by the bucketload. In fact, the reason I don't post too often over at Breakfast Sunday, is because I get shamed by all those gorgeous, healthy, meusli and yoghurt/ fresh fruit combinations!

Though once the weather gets warmer, I'll be eating less stodgy things to start the day.....

Speaking of the end of winter, even though I look forward to some sunshine like a woman possesed, I will miss having a real, concrete reason to knit. I wandered into the Spotlight winter yarn sale the other day, and came home with all of this, mostly at 2 or 3 dollars a ball:

Which I very quickly turned into a pair of these:

Which, in actual fact, I don't really need anymore. Brilliant. Bring on Spring, I say!

And just to bring this completely random post full of Nothing In Particular to a fitting end - Self Portrait Saturday.

Taken in the mirror in my kitchen.

I've been working on the tutorial for the quilt, by the way, but the photos I took turned out a bit shit due to lack of light, so I'm gonna have another go at it tommorrow...... promise!

Sleep well, my pretties.....xxx

Absence makes the quilt grow faster....

2007-08-11T17:00:00.000+10:00

While the Man and the Digital camera were away... I finally got started on a project I've been dying to try for ages.....

I've been turning this:

and this:

into this:

Yep. That's right.... it's a Cathedral Window quilt, fiddly and scary, but surprisingly easy once you get started!

I've been meaning to tackle a White Project for a while now.... there are some truly beautiful, sparse and gorgeous quilt projects out there, and though this one isn't quite as avant-garde as I'd like, it's a good start. It's amazing how quickly it grows, and because it's a quilt as you go project, there's no scary batting or backing to deal with after you've finished the fun bits.

I made a block of these when I was at school, so I remembered the basic process, but I've made a few changes to the way I've been making this one, so I think I'll post a tutorial on how to make it next time I prepare a batch of squares. It's a completely satisfying project, even if you are a crappy handstitcher like me - take a step back, and the stitches don't matter a damn.....it the sheer brilliance of the design, the origami like folding of fabric, the stitched down "windows" that catch the eye.....

Anyway - I'm loving it..... tutorial to come soon, I promise! xxx

****UPDATED TO ADD: You can find the tutorial for this quilt on my new blog here:

Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorial....... Enjoy! xxx ****

Flashback Friday.

2007-08-10T00:39:00.000+10:00

This week, My Dad.

This is Dad, with his mates, loitering in the streets of Warrnambool, Victoria, some time in the 60's. (he's the one on the right)

From what i hear, Dad was exactly what he looks in this photo; a country boy, one of the lads, who got up to all measure of trouble whilst hooning around on the weekends. I know he was at least personally responsible for setting half the beach on fire, and tying his best friend, drunk and naked, to a lampost in the centre of town. (and check out those cars!)

My parents met (or got together) at the Palais, the local dance hall. A quick survey of the other kids at my high school told me that about 80% of people's parents met at the Palais. Kind of like a random parent lottery, eh?

Dad was raised by a horse racing family. Apart from tending horses, he has also been a butcher, a welder, and a dairy farmer.
Endlessly practical, he can build anything. We once took a tour of all my parents' old houses, and most of them were falling down, except for the chook houses, which Dad built. When he and my mother were planning to buy a camper trailer, he told the salesman all the reasons why the trailer wasn't built well enough, and they offered him a job.

He showed his love for us by working like a dog, alongside my Mum, on a farm that yielded not much other than shit and pain and strife, for close to 30 years. But since he's retired, he's gone all soft, especially since my sister had her kids. It's one of the most fantastic things to see a big, gruff, hard as nails farming man rolling around on the floor with his grandkids.

He and my Mum are still together. I am lucky to have them as my parents.

You can see other Flashbacks at Flashback Friday

paper.string.cloth - open for business!

2007-08-09T18:35:00.001+10:00

That's right.....my Etsy Shop is now open!

So get your arses in there and buy something!

I guess this is a bit of a test run..... if they don't sell, then I'll go back to being a bog-standard home based crafty person with no entrepreneurial aspirations. My niece and nephew will receive an armload of toys in the mail, and there'll be no hard feelings on any side.
If they do sell, I'll make some more from time to time, plus a few other things, and spend the money I make on fabric! Easy!

This isn't actually the Big Thing I wanted to share today, but the light was so shit this afternoon that I couldn't take any decent photos of the current project. Perhaps tomorrow?

until then....xxxx

Flickr Favourites

2007-08-07T21:24:00.000+10:00

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. babies and teaparties (closeup), 4. ludmilla, 5. Away, 6. Handmade, 7. coffee + apron, 8. books, 9. w, 10. from THE SPACE IN BETWEEN, 11. astrid, are you coming over?, 12. i've got my party skirt

Still without partner and digital camera....*boo*, sorry about the unintentional blog break!
Both of my lovelies return tomorrow, so I should be back in action very soon....there's a new project in the works that I'm dying to share - though the Nongs have been suffering as a result....

But for now, other people's fabulous photos will have to do!

See you soon! xxx

Flashback Friday + Fabric Porn....

2007-08-03T16:46:00.000+10:00

This is one of those photos that constitutes a memory in my mind that could be true, or may well not be......

In my head, this is me riding my bike for the first time. I'm not sure that this is actually the case, especially considering that I used this bike instead of the traditional legs-type walking for most of my childhood, so really it could have been taken whenever..... but whatthehell... it's my head, and my memories!

I grew up on a 200 acre dairy farm in the Western District of country Victoria. The Twelve Apostles were just down the road, and it was an amazing place to grow up. We were raised, my two sisters and I, tomboy style, surrounded by cows and chickens, running riot in gum boots, riding motorbikes and driving tractors and all that stuff.

I love the country. I am still a country girl at heart, though I regret that being a "different" kind of girl in a small country town where tolerance and diversity are sadly lacking, has, in the end, taken it's toll on me. After enduring all kinds of grief through my high school years, I got the hell out of there and never looked back.

My parents sold the farm and retired a couple of years back, and it still hurts me to know that that farm, my only true home, is no longer ours. But alas, home is where you make it, and my sister, with her big, rambling farmhouse, organic orchard, gorgeous children, and millions of duck and chooks is doing her best to fill the gap, and a sterling job she's doing, too.

*sniff* I'm coming over all reminiscent now! You can catch Flashbacks from other bloggers over at Flashback Friday.

Now for the decidedly more raunchy part of my post title....a trip to Ikea today yeilded some surprisingly good fabric....

Man, those people really know how to knock out a graphic, don't they?

This one is my favourite....

The red will be made into some presents for my neice for Christmas, and there's a lovely large repeat black and white cotton that I'm mulling over....

Maybe a tunic-style dress from one of my Japanese sewing books?

I also started to knit the light weight wool I bought from the op shop the other day...

Looks great in the picture, but truth is, it feels like shit all knitted up. It's acrylic, which I usually avoid like the plague, but it did feel reasonable on the spool...... but not in real life knitted terms.....boo hoo. I think I'll relegate it to embroidery yarn instead.

My partner is heading off for a few days, taking the digital camera with him, so I'll be photo short for the next five days.....in the meantime there'll be a little bit of this:

And perhaps a Blog Crush to keep you entertained.....

Have a good weekend! xxx

ha!

2007-07-29T23:42:00.000+10:00

This made me laugh out loud, over at Post Secret....

fantastic.
xxx

New Nongs....

2007-07-27T17:49:00.000+10:00

Here's a couple more little buggers that I've been working on for the last few days...

This one is one of the best of the lot....I've changed the pattern around a little, trying to make the limbs sit a little better, and changing the place where I leave it open for stuffing......

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Nongs never have arms. It's just the way it is. For some reason I don't think they need them...

This one is from the old pattern....so is a little more wonky than I would like....

It is satisfying to know that each one I make does get a little better, though... I'm still not convinced that anyone will actually want to buy them, but after I've made a few more, I think I'll list them in my shop, and see what happens.....

Right now, I'm tossing up between opening an Etsy shop, tried, true and tested, or going out on a limb with a similar site that is Australian-focused.... It's called MadeIt, and it's the same as Etsy, really, just an Australian company, using Aussie dollars, and open to overseas buyers anyway, with PayPal and all that jazz...... So I can't see that it would make a HUGE difference which one I should choose, I guess I just feel like I should give the local one a try......

Anyways, whatever I decide, you'll all be the first to know!

Well, it's Taiwanese Noodle Soup time for me, before a crazy Friday night working at the pub......see you all after the weekend!

* Oh, and for those of you who asked - I HAVE finished Harry Potter, and I've added an email address at the top right of the page, so if you want to email me about Harry, or anything else for that matter, go ahead! xxxx

Thrifted Tuesday....

2007-07-26T17:32:00.000+10:00

Yep, on a Thursday, again. Seems that bloggers are quite flippant with the days of the week...

Todays finds?

Four spools of lace weight yarn, in gorgeous warm tones...$1.75 each:

Not sure what I'll knit from them, but I'm keen to see how the light weight yarn works on the needles....

A little pile of mismatched buttons + a good length of nice and soft light grey wooly flannel that I think will end up as a serious, tweedy-looking Nong....

Yet another present for my neice, who is getting packages-a-rama in the mail from me lately.....this is just a sneak peek for my sister, before I send it!

Plus, The Best Teacup In The Whole World:

It's not in the best condition, which is a damn shame, *but* it's red white and black (my all time favourite colours), comes as a trio, AND it has polka dots. What more could you want?

After trawling around op shops for the afternoon, I had an insatiable craving for cake.....so, for once, I actually made one myself....

Despite my love for vintage crockery, I'm not really a kitchen kind of person. I ADORE good food, and love to eat it, but I'm not a very good cook and I don't often spend time in the kitchen. I blame it on my lifestyle: working nights doesn't really lend itself to the whole cooking, sharing and eating thing, it's more of a grab and run affair. Pity.

So it was nice to make a cake for once; this one from a tried and true recipe of my Mum's - a basic teacake that doesn't call for masses of ingredients, and you can throw whatever you have in the cupboard into it, in this case, walnuts and nutmeg:

This be the recipe:

Basic Tea Cake

ingredients:

60g butter, softened,
1 tsp vanilla essence,
2/3 cup caster or fine white sugar (you can actually use any sugar you want)
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup milk.

cream the butter and sugar, and add egg, a little at a time, beating in as you go. Gradually stir in the flour and the milk, alternating between them, and beat until fluffy.
grease your cake tin, throw in the mixture, and bake for 30 mins in a moderate oven.

That's the basics, I usually add some cinnamon, top the cake with apple slices and raw sugar, or put half the mixture in the tin, top with custard, then the rest of the mixture, so the custard bakes in the middle....mmmmmmm

Tea and Cake. What could be better?

xxxx

Slow Week....

2007-07-25T19:24:00.000+10:00

Well, it's safe to say that I have spent the last two days solidly reading the new Harry Potter, and holy shit, I'm still recovering! I know there's a few Potter fans out here in blogland, and we're all probably offline, reading and re-reading, but in between the pages, there have been a few bits and peices....

Here's the apron I made for my neice, who has taken to helping my sister clean the house, and of course, needs to look the part!

It's reversible, with a girly side, and a tomboy side!

and apparently she loves it, and I've seen some pretty cute photos of her wearing it....

There's also been a bit of leisurely breakfast eating...

And some experimenting with some new styles for my stuffed toys, none of which are worth showing below the neck.....

So tonight is going to be all about making patterns, and trying again. :sigh:

Resolution...

2007-07-22T15:31:00.000+10:00

I resolve to refrain from blogging until I have finished reading this....

I actually haven't started it yet, because I'm working today and tommorrow, but come Tuesday? The fire will be lit, a pot of tea made, and I'm not getting off the couch for hell or high water!

Happy reading everyone!
xxx

Fabric, and where to find it.....

2007-07-19T18:41:00.000+10:00

I've had a couple of people ask me lately where I shop for fabric, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourites with you....

Sourcing and buying fabric you like can be a little difficult, but perseverence does pay off in the end!
Patchworking or quilting fabrics are really popular amongst crafters, the 100% cotton fibre feels wonderful and is great to work with, the prints are many and varied, and it's easy to buy small amounts, stash it away, and figure out what to make from it later.

The main problem I have with quilting fabric is that I am VERY picky when it comes to pattern. I prefer bolder, brighter styles, have an aversion (in most cases) to floral, and despise pink. Many many many quilting fabrics don't fall into this category. Luckily though, there are some designers that favour bold prints, and the new generation of crafters are inspiring a greater variety of fabrics, rather than your traditional pinks, muddy colours, tiny florals and such.
One of my favourite designers, Denyse Schmidt, makes a gorgeous range of bright cotton prints with vintage influences that I really love. The fabrics are a little lighter in weight than I am used to, but the prints are GORGEOUS.

So, advice number one, find some designers you really like, and follow their collections. That being said, ONLY buy fabrics you love, or think you can love. There's no point buying a whole stack of Amy Butler prints if you hate the colourways. Buying designer fabric just because it's designer is just as absurd to me as spending the equivalent of a small house on a handbag just because it's a Vuitton. You might have fashionista cred, but your handbag will still be fucking ugly!

Tip number two: Buy Online. In Australia, the average price for quilting cotton is around 20 - 25 dollars a metre. Online, the same fabric sells for anywhere between US$5 - $20 a yard. In most cases, even including postage, exchange rate, and yards versus metres, The fabric I buy online ends up costing me about half the price it would if I bought it retail in Australia. This is a real pity for me, I would much prefer to go to the fabulous local quilting shop and buy up a storm, but the reality is, I just can't afford to.
Instead, I frequent a few select online fabric stores that come highly recommended by other crafters, and have always provided me with consistently good product and service. A few of my favourites?

Superbuzzy specialises in japanese fabrics, notions, books and supplies, stocks a brilliant range of weird and wonderful bits and pieces, and every time you order something, they send you some Japanese lollies as well! The fabrics I used in my pincushion tutorial are both from Superbuzzy - Some of thier fabrics are a bit cutesy-poo for me, but they do stock some great bright, graphic prints as well.

Repro Depot sell a fantastic rance of vintage and retro themed fabric, buttons, patches, trim and notions. They always have something on sale, and unlike other stores, the sale bin usually has something good in it, rather than just the ugly fabric no-one wants to buy!

Another fabric store I love is Z and S Fabrics. They sell lots of my favourite designers, have a good turnaround on new fabrics, and a range that is so big, I can't even get my head around it.

I have purchased fabrics from all of these stores, and can personally recommend them. There are loads of others, feel free to look at them too, but I'm sticking to places I have actually bought fabric from for this post....

Tip Number Three - Don't forget the Op Shop. Thrifted fabric is brilliant. It's cheap, varied, compatible with re-use and re-cycle ethics, and usually of a nature that you will not find anywhere else. Keep an eye out in your favourite thrift shops, it's amazing how much fabric is out there if you look for it.
Depending on what it is that you make, don't forget to rummage through not only the fabric bin, but the sheets and linens, tea towels and blankets. Clothing can be cut up and made into other things, especially fabric heavy items like skirts, sarongs, shawls and dresses. Wool jumpers or sweaters can be felted in the washing machine with soap and hot water, and used to make other things. At the op shop, anything is possible. Learn to see the fabric, not the ugly outfit. Some of my favourite fabrics have been found in the op shop, and you'll usually get much larger amounts of fabric too!

Tip Number Four: Your bog-standard fabric shop. I still routinely drop into Lincraft and Spotlight, and never leave Ikea without at least a metre of fabric under my arm. These places are full of mass produced shit, but sometimes there's a gem in there that you'll die over.
On one of my last Spotlight visits I got 5 metres of lightweight linen for $2 a metre because it was old summer stock.
The fabric at Ikea is big and bright and bold, cheap as, and heavyweight cotton drill to boot. Perfect for furnishings and cushions, things you might get sick of in six months and want to change. There's no shame in a chain store, just remember to ONLY BUY FABRIC YOU ACTUALLY LIKE!!!!! Same rules apply as for designer - don't buy it just because it's cheap! Only buy it if you really like it or you know EXACTLY what you're going to use it for!

Well, that's it. The Mega Fabric Post!

My only last peice of advice is: don't be afraid to buy fabric, don't worry about what it was before, never mind if you don't know exactly what you're going to make out of it (as long as you love it, that is!), and when you get it home, don't be afraid to cut into it!

I hope that's been of some help to those of you who asked.....
xxx

Thrifted Tuesday...

2007-07-19T18:33:00.000+10:00

This week, a few goodies from my rounds of the op shops....

A vintage bedsheet, in gaudy pink and red floral, some cute vintage sewing patterns, and some self-cover buttons, which I love....

I'm loving the fitted bodice and flared skirt on this little frock...

And even though, as a rule, I generally hate pink, I can see some girly Nongs being made out of this fabric....

And a beautiful, if rather battered, vintage copy of Little Women, which I haven't read since I was little....

I also managed to score a frock for our inaugural Mid Winter Ball at work, it's on Saturday, and I've been sewing away, making a petticoat for underneath, and making some minor adjustments to the fit of the frock..... I'll post some pictures of it once it's done!

Otherwise, tonight it's soup making, television watching, and costume adjusting......

Work In Progress and.....

2007-07-14T19:01:00.000+10:00

A bit of a peek.....

And a bit of this....

I've been a bit slack around here lately....feeling a little poorly, so lots of sitting on the couch playing the Harry Potter video game! (I've never played video games before....I keep walking into walls and casting spells on the wrong things!). But today I had a bit more zing, cleaning the house and getting ready for a busy weekend at work...

There are a few more Nongs in the works, and the little project you can see in the photos above, but otherwise, slow sailing around here.

Have a great weekend! xx

Link Love.....

2007-07-13T13:15:00.000+10:00

I was just pottering around on the net, checking up on some of my favourite blogs, when I found a Link to my pincushion tutorial on Craft Tutorials blog. This is a first for me, Thanks Donna!

Thrifted Tuesday..

2007-07-11T16:28:00.000+10:00

Finally, I got back to a spot of op shopping this week! I've been taking a break from thrifting in order to hibernate the finances a bit, but yesterday the withdrawals got too much to bear......

So, on to the finds......

A whole pile of fabric, a bit of a mongrel bunch this time, but all individually quite good for what I plan to use them for....

But the fabric find of the year was this AMAZING vintage linen tablecloth, hand embroidered, and ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, for six dollars.....

How on earth anyone could ever have the patience to embroider so well is absolutely beyond me!

And just for overload on the tablecloth - here it is in my kitchen...

After those finds, I was on my way home, when I decided spontaneously to pop into another op shop I haven't been to for ages, where I rarely have any real luck, just on the off chance that there might be something......

Boy, was there something!

The ENTIRE SET of Childcraft Library books, the lot for five dollars.

For those of you who are not familiar, the Childcraft Library series is like a set of encyclopedias for kids, from the seventies, with the best illustrations in the world. We had a set of these when I was a kid, and I spent hours and hours poring over them, learning stuff (I was, and still am, and unabashed bookworm), hassling dad to help me make stuff out of the "Make and Do" book, and getting my first dose of Greek Mythology (another of my loves) from the "Stories and Fables" edition.

It's on par with finding a whole set of Golden Hands, or Enid Blyton books, or something similar.....

Here's a couple of pages so you can see what I mean...

From Stories and Fables....

From Make and Do:

Love it.

Before I go, I just wanted to say a thankyou to everyone who commented on the pincushion tutorial.....having never done a tute before, it was good to know that other people found it useful!

I hope you're all having tea and cupcakes, wherever you are....! xxx

Pincushion Tutorial!

2007-07-07T16:48:00.000+10:00

*Editors Note: For those of you who have visited this page before - I had to rephotograph the tutorial due to some technical difficulties! So now the photos are a little different, but the tutorial stays the same! Thanks! *

I've seen a few pincushion tutorials around on the net, and most of the time I skim over them, because pincushions seem so, well, easy.... This one is no exception, but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring anyway....

After rearranging my studio, and ending up with two workspaces, one for cutting, and one for sewing, the need for an extra pincushion became very clear, and after seeing these two examples by Heather, and Manda, I thought it was time to give it a go. (I probably would have bought one of Manda's, but by the time I saw the post she had sold out! Gah!)

So here goes:

This pincushion is a simple patchworked number, four squares on each side, with a button detail in the centre. Easy Peasy.

First of all, you need to choose some fabric. I ended up with a plain white linen, plus two contrasting cotton fabrics, so the cushion would be different on each side.

Then, make yourself a little 2 1/2 inch square template out of cardboard or such. I don't have a rotary cutter or quilt ruler or any fancy tools, so I trace directly around the template onto the fabric, and then leave a seam allowance around that when cutting. This leaves the traced line as your sewing line, and gets rid of the need for perfect 1/4 inch seams and such. It's a inperfect art, but there you go.

So trace around your templates, remembering to leave a seam allowance....You'll need two squares each of the contrasting fabric, and four of the plain.

Cut out your squares.

Stitch the squares together, following the traced stitching line, to make two 5 inch square blocks. Press the seams down flat. Don't stress too much if your squares don't meet perfectly in the middle, your button will cover that at the end anyway...

Place the two block right sides together, and stitch all the way around the outside, leaving a small hole for turning it round the right way and stuffing. Trim the seams and clip the corners.

Turn that sucker inside out (well, the right way round, actually), poke the corners out, and then stuff it quite full with stuffing.

You want your pincushion to be quite plump, so overstuff it as much as you can without straining the seams....

Sew up the hole you left for the stuffing with tiny little stitches, or some crazy invisible stitching method that you know (and I don't!)
Now it should look like this:

Now for the fun part - finishing!

Choose some buttons that you like to go with the fabrics you've chosen.

I used waxed linen thread for the button part, because it's strong, and you'll be pulling on the thread quite hard, so make sure you use something reasonably strong.

To start off the stitching for the buttons, thread your needle with a double length of thread and tie a knot at one end. Poke your needle through the centre of your pincushion, making sure it comes out in the centre on the other side.

Pull the thread through, but leave a small loop on the front side.

Make a small stitch on the reverse side, bringing the needle out in the centre once again. Don't pull the thread through just yet.

Before you pull the thread through, slip your needle through the loop you made, which will stop the knot from slipping through the fabric into the middle of the cushion.

Pull the thread tight, which should tighten up the loop you left hanging, and bring the whole centre of the cushion in, giving your cushion that cute shape you want.

Now sew your buttons on, stitching right through the centre of your cushion, pulling the thread tight, making the buttons press down in the centre. Use similar sized buttons so you can match up the holes reasonably well on both sides.
When the buttons are secure, bring your thread up to the top, but not through to the other side of the button. Instead, ease the needle out behind the button. This takes a bit of managing, but you should get it without too many dramas.

Your thread should now lie behind the top button like this:

To make a secure knot, use the thread to make a loop behind the button, like so:

Slip the needle through the loop, and tighten well, behind the button. Do a couple of these knots, and then trim off your thread so it hides behind the button.

And voila! You're done!

For those of you with loads of sewing experience, this is a peice of cake, and nothing you won't have seen before. But if you're a beginner, give it a go, especially the button tying technique; this is how I sew on all my buttons, and I haven't had one fall off yet!

Well, there you have it, my first tutorial. If you'd like to see any of the photos in more detail, just click on one and you'll be taken to my Flickr page, where you can see them bigger if you like.

I hope you liked it!

xxxx

Still Standing...

2007-07-05T17:49:00.000+10:00

Though it is a fabulous tree, huge and majestic, I was hoping it would depart with just one branch to do away with my crappy laundry; alas, the storm passed with no real drama in my suburb, though the beachside got quite a battering....

Today: Presents In The Post! Though coming from Ebay, it's not so much a present..... On sound advice from Shula, I am now the owner of a fucking GORGEOUS cashmere jumper....ooooohhhh my lord, this is by far the most warming, luxurious and divine garment I have ever owned. The fit isn't perfect (as usual, a little too big), but I swear, I'm never taking it off. Never.

Though cashmere is expensive, I managed to score this one for a great price, and even if I'd paid twice as much for it, as soon as you hold it in your hands, you know it's worth every penny.

In other news, we have some more additions to the Nong family:

I'm having a little bit of trouble with the stuffing....I know not to just stuff wads of it in, and to feed it in in a slow, contast stream, but I still seem to get lumpy bits.....any advice?

Nong #4 is a good example:

His legs just don't sit how I'd like them to.

But y'know...... imperfection = originality in my book.....

I've also completed a request from my sister for an apron for my neice, who has taken to "cleaning" the house....but I'll post photos of that once the package has been recieved.... don't want to spoil the anticipation!

xxxxx

If On a Rainy Night.....

2007-07-04T19:56:00.000+10:00

There's a storm on its way tonight, causing King Tide in the Port of Adelaide and wreaking havoc over the Southern end of the state, a perfect night for staying in with the knitting, hoping that if the massive gum tree in the yard does, in fact, decide to topple over, that it will at least have the sense to fall on the bathroom and laundry, which I would love to have re-done!

In the meantime, some things I've been up to....

I bought this lovely grey pure wool jumper at the op shop the other day, but as with most things involving breasts and shoulders, it was a terrible fit.....Even on my gorgeous model, whose 50's waistline and fabulous pointy boobs still don't do the jumper any favours.....

Clearly some cutting and pasting was in order....

A bit of pattern checking,

A whole lot of pinning,

And voila! Jumper For Skinny Girl!

I'm terrible at taking photos of myself, despite having a tripod and timer setting on the camera....but anyhoo, you get the idea. It's finely knit, warm and fabulous, and that wee little moth nibbled hole on the front is for authenticity, y'know.....

My neckwarmer order has gone from this:

To this:

Amazing how quickly I can knit when I have a deadline.... plus I've been catching up on some dreadful TV watching, so it just seems to make itself.....brilliant!

And tonight? There'll be a bit of this:

And episodes of House and Medium to keep me happy.

Before I go, I wanted to send out a thankyou to all the lovely comments I got about the Nongs, and about my blog in general over the last week or so..... When starting out on a new endeavour, it's easy to poo-hoo your own efforts, and lose confidence in your making skills, especially when there are so many more talented people out there making things I couldn't construct in my wildest dreams.
So getting a little comment or two from people who are, essentially, strangers to me, and have no obligation whatsoever to do so, is gratifying and humbling in the extreme.
So thankyou, to everyone who has sent me a note lately, and if I haven't responded to you, please take this as your personal thankyou.

Cheers, m'dears..... xxx

Breakfast Sunday

2007-07-03T17:03:00.000+10:00

Well, actually, it's Staurday and Sunday, posted on a Tuesday.....but I'm sure you get the idea.....

Saturday is weekend newspapers, the crossword, English Breakfast tea, and tahini and honey on toast....

Sunday is home-made oats, passionfriut, banana and honey....... notice - no eggs for a whole weekend!

If you'd like to see more of bloggers' breakfasts.... hop on over to Breakfast Sunday...

Things are little quiet here, but I hope to get some things done over the next couple of days....including my first order for a neckwarmer!
One of the best things about working in a live music venue is meeting some incredible musicians, and one such musician, the lovely Bob (Robyn) from The Yearlings, will soon be the recipient of a blue merino hand knitted neckwarmer. Lovely. It's so nice when someone you see as having a gorgeous personal style not only comments on something you're wearing, but asks you to make them one as well. So, I'd better get knitting!

xxx

Manifesto of Sorts....

2007-06-30T14:41:00.000+10:00

If you ever wondered why people like us do what we do, you need to read this over at Poppalina.

Shula has somehow managed to encapsualte the absolute best parts of making things, sharing those things, and the wonderful interactions and random acts of love that ensue. Perfect. I don't think any of us could say it better.

I quote:

"People think Crafters are mad. Potty, whimsical and nutty, at best. Cracked, spooky and best avoided at worst. Maybe they're right. I know it takes a certain level of obsessiveness to see a project through to completion, and a demented level of fervour to start such an ambitious project in the first place. Crafting takes time, lots of time. And so much patience. Neither of which there's much room in the world for anymore."

"Crafters craft because they must. They are driven by a blind desire to create Gorgeous Things. Things that take time and patience and love. Original thoughts that come direct to you, from the heart."

"Crafters try to bring a little of the Divine into the real world, every time they make something. As a gospel singer might describe it, they sing it down, during the hours and hours of meditative work involved in each piece."

Go and read the whole thing, it'll make your day.

xxx

Little Things....

2007-06-29T14:45:00.000+10:00

Today started with a bit of this:

Which came with these cute art cards for free!

And a little Sneak Peek at what comes next.....

I've run out of stuffing...so the bigger viewing will have to wait....

And now I have to give the Landlord a tour of the house, including the spot on the carpet where a log rolled out of the fire......uuurrrrgggghhh..... wish me luck! xxx

Fabulous Favourites From Flickr....

2007-06-28T13:42:00.000+10:00

1. w.i.p. little deer doll quilt, 2. Confettina, 3. washing the car, 4. Buttons #01, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Mosaic Monday, 10. teacups., 11. 63rd1.jpg, 12. biscuit face, 13. budgie pot., 14. red shoes/my bathroom floor, 15. me in my studio

And A Bit More......

2007-06-28T00:57:00.000+10:00

Yep. Once I start, I tell you, there's no stopping me. Today, I've been doing a little bit of this:

Which ended up being this: Nong Number Two.......

Just in case you were wondering exactly how different to each other, and how not-made-from-a-pattern these little guys were planning to be!

This one is made from white linen, with felt, buttons, cotton and embroidery. It has a wonky pouch, which I thought about trying to diguise with a broochy kind of thing, but then I thought, whatthehell. Wonk is Good.

This one is 51 cm tall, stuffed with poly fill, and is joining the parade on it's way to the shop......

Feedback still urgently needed......xxxx

A Little Bit of Finished.....

2007-06-27T20:00:00.001+10:00

Ok, so here goes:
I started this blog without really understanding where it would go. I'm a bit crafty, a bit fashion-y, a bit of this and a bit of that, and all I really knew was that I wanted to make stuff, and share that stuff with other people.
Problem is, at the moment I am at a bit of a crossroads with my making, and I'm not really sure where exactly I'm going, and what exactly I want to make.
BUT.
Today, I decided that I don't really care, that I'll make whatever the hell I want, and if that's a stuffed toy today, and a tea cozy tomorrow, that's totally fine by me.
So, without further ado, I present to you, oh dear patient friends, Something What I Made.

It's called a Nong, and I've already made quite a few of them, but only really for friends and family before. This is the first of a lot that I want to make to sell.

First: a word on how I make things..... I am a haphazard woman, I rarely use patterns, and I like to make things up as I go. This way, no two Nongs will ever be the same. As there isn't a pattern, each one is created of it's own accord, step by step, until it's done. This particular one is made from a thick, nubbly woolly-tweedy fabric, some wool felt, bits of stitching, cotton legs, pouch and antennae, recycled and new materials, and lots of love. It's stuffed with poly filling.All told, he measures 57cm from top to bottom.

My toys are lo-fi, are meant to be a bit wonky, and are made with passion rather than breathtaking skill in mind. I'm not sure exactly if they are the kind of thing that people would want to buy, but I'm going to give it a crack anyway.

Feedback and advice would be absolutely appreciated, brutal honesty welcomed, and ego-popping embraced. Please let me know what you think.
If all goes well, and you don't all tell me what a hideous creation I am responsible for, I think I'll try to make at least one Nong a week, and once I have five or six, I'll start putting them up in the shop, along with some other bits and pieces I make along the way.

Phew! So there it is my friends, a first on this blog - A Little Bit of Finished. xxxx

And just as an aside, a few people commented on the neatness of the new studio, and how they wished they could be neat in thier homes and work spaces too. I just wanted to say, that the only reason my studio is neat right now is because it's new. Give me a week in there and there'll be fabric everywhere, bits of cotton flying, scissors and stuffing strewn over the floor.....

I actually think that studios that look like they have been pulled from the pages of a magazine are a bit weird.....some people are naturally neat ( I am NOT one of them), but creating is a messy business, and I love a good space that shows exactly what it's for.....like This One.A creative, colourful, organised but still a little crazy. Perfect. Even though a nicely folded fabric stash is a lot of fun, it's more important that you actually MAKE something out of it, isn't it?

Anyway, that's all for today.....please tell me what you think......xx

Back......(well, sort of)

2007-06-26T20:48:00.000+10:00

Having a week or so away from blogging has been weird. Even though I haven't been doing this for very long, the habit of taking photographs, and planning little posts in my head has definately taken hold......

My computer is still in the shop, they haven't managed to find the problem, and are going to charge me through the nose for the fact that there is nothing wrong with the bloody thing, so I haven't been in to pick it up yet. In the meantime, I have dragged the old laptop out of it's retirement, happily playing music in the bedroom, to a more rigorous life as bloggers' assistant, and it's taken me this long to get all the software and bookmarks and such updated.

Anyhoo..... you would think that a week off with a newly repaired sewing machine would result in lots of things to show and tell, but I stupidly decided to do this instead.....

Namely, pulling everything out of the spare bedroom, and deciding that it will be the spectacular new home to all my sewing gear, now that it is winter, and the tiny little room off the front verandah is just not cutting it as a studio for me.....

Now, lots of furniture moving later, it's looking a little like this:

There's a distinct lack of colour in there, but I'm working on the more decorative features now......
But by far the most exiting thing is this:
This is part of my fabric stash before the renovation.....

And after following a Brilliant Tutorial, my fabrics look like this:

So so so so so much better........ I always wondered how Other.
People managed to keep thier fabrics is such good order....but now the secret's out! Not only is this an incredibly anal and satisfying thing to do when you're procrastinating, it does have some other bonus points as well..... When your fabric is folded this way, I swear, it takes up about a third of the space it did before. Those shelves were full to the brim, bursting out all over the place with higgeldy piggeldy piles of fabric....... Not Good.

The other thing is how such a process reaquaints you with your stash. There are fabrics in there I had totally forgotten about. And a whole pile of others I decided I didn't like anymore, so I'll probably send them back to the op shop from whence they came.... and while you're mediatively folding your fabric, you also subconsciously decide what you're going to make out of it.

Anyway, so that's what I've been doing. No, I haven't made a single fucking thing yet. But I'm organised at least. That's something, right?

Before I go, I must send out a thankyou to my sister, who sent me this in the mail while I was offline....

Another little pile of vintage brilliance, with a tote bag pattern to go with it.

She's the only person in my real world who actually reads my blog, for some reason I'm really shy about it, and I get embarrased when I talk about it. Most people know I'm up to something, but I don't share the details. It's weird, I know, but there you have it. So thanks Leonie, for knowing me well enough to not laugh at my weirdness, and sharing my love of making the best of what you can find.......xxxxx

I'll be back in full force over the next week - once I've put everything back where it's supposed to be......

Oh my.....

2007-06-24T04:24:00.000+10:00

Almost a THOUSAND visitors????? Are you serious? I am Absolutely Amazed. Now I totally understand what it's like for bloggers to feel completely incredulous at the fact that they have an audience. The thought that anyone would take even 30 seconds out of thier day to read about mine is, well, weird, but in a brilliant, amazing, humbling way.

Thankyou, thankyou thankyou.

My computer is still in the shop getting fixed, so no photos or anything even remotely interesting yet, but I should have her back on Monday, so It'll be business as usual then....

Until then, lovely readers....!
xxxxx

Broken.....

2007-06-17T15:02:00.000+10:00

My beloved IMac has freaked out, and I've had to take it to the computer hospital, so I'll be a little quiet over the next few days.
But I'll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with some completed projects after a few days away from the computer!

See You Soon!

xxxx

Excuse Me?

2007-06-14T19:18:00.000+10:00

What do you mean, Addicted. To. Fabric??????

This lot came in the mail today, from Z & S Fabrics....mmmmmmmm I don't really need to tell you how much I love new fabric, do I?
There's a bunch of half yards of Denyse Schmidt's new Katie Jump Rope Collection, plus a few sale fabrics........ I SWEAR this has to be the last fabric I buy before I get the sewing machine fixed. I took her in to be serviced today, so hopefully our Betty will be back up and running in less than a week.

Lucky for me, this wasn't the only present I got in the mail today!
I was lucky enough to be the 300th customer at Three Dog Party's Etsy shop, and I scored a whole bunch of stuff other than the Air Mail cards I ordered!

I LOVE their cards, especially these.....

And these ones crack me up....

Thanks guys!!!!

After opening all the exciting post, I spent about a thousand hours in the Laundromat, followed by a little bit of Op Shopping......the score?

This Old Royal teaset, a set of six.....

In these colours.....

It must have been a teacup day, because I dashed out to Ikea for some picture frames, and came home with this instead....

Now I'll have plenty to contribute to Cup of The Day!

All in all, a satisfying day.........

I'm as Warm as Warm Can Be......

2007-06-14T00:01:00.000+10:00

Tonight? The fire is lit,the terrible Wednesday night television is on (Medium, anyone?), lots of tea, and this:

The Hand Warmers are coming along swimmingly....no pattern as usual, just making it up as I go along! They'll end up looking a bit mental, but then I'm a little mental, so I suppose that makes sense!

I also managed to invest in some good winter clothes today, a pair of yummy wooly leggings from Kookai in a charcoal grey, and I black hoodie from a teeny-bopper chainstore that I'm ashamed to mention....but I tell you, I'm much warmer (and far lees grumpy) today!

Thanks so much for all the advice on places to shop and ways to keep warm, I'll definately be shopping for a hat soon, and if I can track myself down some yummy cashmere yarn, my chilly bones will be very grateful!

The Lovely Rhiannon was kind enough to provide me with a list of her favourite online shops, so I thought I would share the love....

For lush, lush, jewel toned ceramics,

Cul de Sac

For the cutest skirts you'll ever see....

Made With Love by Hannah

For the most amazing, hand made books,

Black Spot Books

For weird and wonderful printed t-shirts:

Owl Movement

Lovely, lovely, lovely clothes....(someone please buy me this as a present!)

Laura Dawson

Wonderful, kitsch, tapestry bags....

Mokka

Phew! That PayPal balance won't be safe for too much longer!

Thrifted Tuesday + Vintage Hilarity....

2007-06-12T22:13:00.000+10:00

Today's Thrifted Tuesday is a bit drab, I didn't have a lot of time or cash to spend, so I'm going out again tomorrow to a part of town I only visit sporadically, for a fresh crop from some other Op Shops....

Todays find du jour : Vintage Linens....

A very cute apple red with coloured dots, a funny tea towel with weird little figures that can only be described as Chinese Babushkas, plus a cream linen with lovely smudgy black dots all over it..... but my absolute favourite is this vintage tea towel.....

It's old cream linen, with the above printed in the top corner, with the "Rules of The Inn" spelled out for those who may need reminding.....

The Rules are as follows:

1. The Inn shall open and close promptly at the diverse times determined by the Proprietor.

2. Neither Dram nor Draught shall be served, nor the fire poked, other than by the Proprietor or his credited servants.

3. Barmaids, while in the employ of the Proprietor, are held to be under his protection. Patrons may not indulge in Familiarity, Goosing, Thumbing, Smoothing or Stroking, except by leave.

4. Only Coins of The Realm may be tendered for the purchase of liquor. Cheques or Notes of Hand will not be accepted from those below the rank of Royal Duke.

5. No Lady shall enter the parlour less she has been known by the Proprietor.

6. The Blue Ruin is not served before ten o'clock.

7. Food may not be brought into the Inn unless shared with the Proprietor.

8. The following penalties may be invoked for swearing: an Oath 1d; a Curse 3d; a Blasphemy 6d; it being for none but the Proprietor to Categorize.

9. Acts of Balancing the Glasses of the House are Expressly Forbidden, after last time.

10. There may be no dicing, whether the Die be Fair or Loaded.

11. Disputes at cards shall be submitted to the judgement of the Proprietor, who shall earn for his adjudication the Pot of The Moment.

12. None but the tobacco sold by the House shall be smoked.

13. No spiritous liquors shall be served for consumption by dogs, except before Fights.

14. Seamen and Travellers are invited to be Moderate in the telling of Tall Stories, lest the Credulity of the Company be strained, and the Queen's Peace threatened.

Hilarious. I'm going to frame this one and take it into the bar where I work.....it's quite scary how relevant some of this is! And I think it's brilliant that the customers are unable to 'Goose' or 'Thumb' me unless the "Proprietor" gives her leave!!!!

Sorry about the random posting.... things are a little random around here too...but there'll be lots of thrifty goodness tomorrow....promise!

On the Perils of Winter....

2007-06-09T16:30:00.000+10:00

So, it's Winter. Here, it's getting colder and colder by the day, and my coping mechanisms have started to fail. First of all, you need to know that I am one of those Skinny Bitches. I weigh less that 50kg, I've always been thin, with no bosom or hips to speak of, and I seem to straddle that strange line between underweight and TOO skinny. My family is full of wiry, thin little grandmas so I suppose it's genetic. Anyway, the problem with having practically no body fat is that Winter becomes a Serious Fucking Issue.

I am cold. All The Time. And no amount of long-john wearing, knitted scarving, granny blanketed sitting in front of the fire will cure me. I get so cold sometimes that I want to cry. Seriously. Apart from drinking thousands of cups of tea a day, my next plan of attack is this:

I got a package from Superbuzzy yesterday, in more detail below, and I've already got the wool on the needles, for some hand warmers. No pattern, as usual, and I know I should knit them in the round, but I can't find the bloody double pointy ended needle thingies, so squares will have to do. And really, squares are what I knit best!
I know you can't really see much knitting in the pic, but once my hands thaw out enough to manage the needles, I'll rip into it and post more photos soon.

Anyhoo, on the the postman.

I love Superbuzzy, I really do. They are one of the main shops that recieve most of my PayPal balance. I am rather distressed at the sudden doubling in International postage rates, though, so I'll have to shop in larger lots now to justify the cost, which really just means more fabric! Woo Hoo!

So the latest package is this:

Ooooohhh....la la la.....

I fell IN LOVE with this Graphic Flowers print, which was the impetus for the order....

Supplemented by this Hard Boiled Egg print in red....mmmmmmm...

And just to top it off, some Make Make yarn in Charcoal, which is gorgeous and soft, I think 80% wool and 20% mohair, lightly variegated, lovely! Though I thought it was coming in 50g balls, and they arrived as 25g (tiny little things!) but I still love it.....hence the hand warmers!

But from now on I'll have to order a bit more than this to justify the $25 it costs me for postage.....what happened to flat rate envelopes?

This brings me to something I want to ask advice about.

Whenever I sell something on Ebay, and I get paid via PayPal, rather than bank deposit, I use the money to fund my internet purchases. Right now, this is usually Ebay and Etsy purchases, as well as Superbuzzy. But I'd love to know if anyone has any other favourite online shops that post internationally, that accept PayPal? Anything really, from clothes to accessories to vintage to fabric, whatever. I am in the VERY unusual position of having a bit of a balance to spend, and nothing to spend it on! Ha!

Well, that's it for me, it's Saturday after all, and the newspaper crossword is calling my name.....

I'll leave you with one more picture, for the gorgeous Shula, and my friends over at Breakfast Sunday, as proof that I dont always eat eggs for breakfast!

Have a great weekend!

Self Portrait Saturday

2007-06-09T16:25:00.000+10:00

Pretending to be asleep.....

Sometimes I think it's nice to see who you're "talking" to. Posting photos of yourself on the internet is something that is fraught with insecurities, for me, not so much about how I will look, but more about whether I am comfortable with having no control whatsoever over who may see it. But, having shared many other things about my life here, I think it should be fitting to share the face that goes with all the thoughts......so, hello! It's lovely to meet you!

It's Late....

2007-06-05T23:10:00.001+10:00

Late late late, (I've just arrived home from work) so this will just be a quick post.....

Thrifted Tuesday came up with the goods in a spectacular way today, yielding mountains of fabric.....

My favourites?

Though not usually a floral kind of girl....this one....

Oh, and this one....

And this one is right up my alley........

Do you ever find that your Op Shopping ventures seem to focus on one kind of thing? After the Good Shoe Day the other day, seems today was Fabric Day. There are other times when all I will find is crockery, or dresses, or handbags.....seems they come in flocks, these little covetable stashes of things.....

Well, I have a hankering for some tea and a piece of toast......see you tomorrow!

I Heart Saturdays.

2007-06-02T14:46:00.000+10:00

Saturday is a day of ritual for me....the trip to the newsagent to get the Weekend papers, taking time over breakfast, pottering around for the day until I go to work in the evening.....Today was no exception, except for one thing.....

Twice a year at the pub where I work, we have a secondhand book sale. The father of one of the women I work for spends 6 months trawling garage sales and op shops and stashes all the books away for the sale, selling them on for usually just a dollar or so each.

The haul this time?

*Jean Paul Satre - Words
*Richard Dawkins - The Blind Watchmaker
*Alice Walker - The Color Purple
* Victor Bocris - Warhol (biography)
*Jane Austen- Persuasion
*The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl
*Edgar Allan Poe's Collected Works
*Zadie Smith-The Autograph Man
*The British Commonwealth and Empire (for my English partner!)
*The Beatles - In Thier Own Words

So we can safely say that I am set for reading for a little while.....

After the sale, back into the Saturday routine, the weekend paper, a pot of tea, and some homemade (not by me though, I'm afraid) fig and walnut jam on toast....

You can see more photos of bloggers' breakfasts over at Breakfast Sunday.....

In other news, I thought I'd post some better photos of my Two skein scarf thingy.....it's looking a little careworn, mainly because I've hardly taken it off since I made it, but so far I've taken three orders for new ones, so I might make a few more if anyone would be interested in buying one? (probably Aussie readers, considering it's just coming up to warm weather again in the States)

Basically, it's two layers of thick knit in stocking stitch, sewn together and set off by two vintage buttons. It's worn like a cowl, and it's two layers keeps your neck nice and toasty, but is quickly removable for once you get inside in front of the fire......

It's the kind of thing that would be a peice of cake for a knitter to whip up, but if wooly stuff isn't your forte, drop us a line and I'll whip one up for you!

One more thing before I go.....you may remember ages ago I posted about my Renovation Project..... well, here are some work in progress pictures....

It's had a coat of white semi gloss, and is looking much cleaner....

And the door now has glass you can actually see through......

Now I just have to sand it AGAIN and do ANOTHER coat of paint, and it might just be ready to put in the hallway.....uuurrrrgghhhhhh......

Well, enough for today, I've got a newspaper to read!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering if I'm actually going to sew anything any time soon....Betty (my lovely sewing machine) is doing some drastically weird things right now, so I've decided to take her to hospital before I put her through any more torture. Granted, as old as she is, I'm sure she deserves some love and care...so after Hans has worked his magic on her, I'll be back in full force....promise...!

Simple Things....

2007-05-31T23:18:00.000+10:00

Today I had a day off. No sewing, no working, no Op Shopping, just this:

Lots of cups of tea.....

Reading in bed......(I've read two books in two days.....once I get my nose in one, I can't seem to get it out....)

And crumpets with lots of honey......

It's been so long since I had a lazy day like this that I feel a little guilty....but I'm blaming it on the weather, which has turned bitterly cold, and makes going outside too much of a trauma for my poor, skinny bones.....!

In other news, I have joined two more new Flickr groups, and so should you!

Breakfast Sunday

and Thrifty Colour Themes

Tomorrow I will be out and about again.....in the meantime though, I'm getting back in front of the fire to toast my toes......

Thrifted Tuesday + Blog Crush.....

2007-05-29T17:22:00.000+10:00

Woot! I finally have my car back (mind you, $800 later....), so today I could go out for a spot of op shopping......funny how taking just a week off sends me into withdrawal symptoms.....

Today's haul was nothing too flash, but satisfying nonetheless....

A few more vintage fabrics to add to the stash...

Including one pillowcase that is so cute it almost makes me want to vomit....

I don't normally do cutesy-poo....but I really wanted the yellow print to put into my quilt, Lord knows what to do with the mini lovers......

I also managed a good shoe day today, three pairs of brilliant, ludicrously bright 80's numbers, all too small for me, so heading to the Ebay Shop....

I also managed to find a very cute coat for my neice....which I haven't photographed yet, because I might do some embellishments, and that will be a post all of its own....

I also scored a few vintage dresses, also destined for Ebay....

And for my partner, who is irrepressibly English, a book to add to his collection....

So there you have it....Thrifted Tuesday!

Now onto more important matters......

After my Internet Frustration post the other day, I got so many gorgeous emails of encouragement on the being real issue, plus the swearing when I want to! I found out that lots of us pretend we are on a TV show like Martha Stewart or Jamie Oliver, pottering around the house performing to entirely imaginary audiences, and that all of us have that Authorial Voice (kudos to Shula for the term), and that we take photos of the good bits, leave out the messy bits when we can, but in the end, we are all fucking human after all.

I can't begin to say how nice it is to recieve letters of encouragement after taking a leap of faith on a post like that. Suddenly I understand why I so often read on the blogs of people I admire posts full of admiration and gratitude to thier readers for being supportive. I extend such grateful thanks to my tiny little readership, and consider myself a pig in shit for having made such lovely aquaintances. (notice the swearing.....oh how naturally it flows.....)

Anyway, so in spirit of this gratitude, I am devising a new topic. It's called Blog Crush, and this here, it's the first one.

So you know how you'll discover a new blog, and you feel so enamoured or connected to the person who writes it that suddenly they are on your favourites list, you're checking every day to see if they've posted yet, you get excited about their projects, their new curtains, their children, their problems? So much so that you feel weird leaving them comments in case you sound like a stalker? This my dears, is a Blog Crush. And I have decided to bare my Blog Crushes to the world, semi-regularly, to let some fabulous people on the net know that I think what they do is wonderful. In a friendly non-stalkery kind of way........

And the honour of first Blog Crush has to go to Manda, of TreeFall Design. I don't know how I found Manda's blog, but it was one of the first craft blogs I started reading, and her links list has led me to a whole world of creative brilliance.

She has an impossibly cute daughter, a husband who doesn't mind how much fabric she buys, and sometimes even shops for it with her....

She makes beautiful collages and patchwork pillows and sometimes toys and things, which you can buy Here

But the best thing about Manda is that she is real, she writes about her life in a way that makes you feel included as a reader, and this, more than the fact that she makes fabulous cushions, is why I read her blog. One of the best bits of reading about the lives of other creative people is that you realise how similar we all are, whether it be a sudden hankering for all things yellow, or how we pull ourselves together after a fall, or the mini Martha Stewart in all our heads......

So thanks Manda, this one's for you.....

Cheers!

(I also should say that I totally stole the above pictures from Mandas blog.... so make sure you go visit and see them in context, and know that all copyright belongs to her......)

Internet Frustration.....

2007-05-26T16:47:00.001+10:00

So I have been a subscriber to Bloglines for a little while now, and I have decided to abandon it. Not because it's not useful in being able to see when your favourite blogs have been updated ( and my favourites list is quite exhaustive), but I get annoyed at not being able to see the posts in the beauty the writers intended, including layout, colours, and how the post looks in relation to the layout of the blog itself, but also, COMMENTS!

Ok, maybe this is a newbie bloggy preoccupation, but I am holding bloglines personally responsible for the fact that people don't leave enough comments for each other. This may be due to the fact that, as a new blogger, whenever I get a comment I am left irrationally excited, quickly rushing over to the comment leavers' blog and wondering how on earth some fabulous knitter from Canada, or a crafty maven from San Fransisco possibly found me on the endless sea of the internet.

Is there some way of leaving comments from Bloglines that I don't know about? If not, I am still going to use it to check for updates, but I will insist on viewing the proper page to read said updates. So There. (end rant here)

On another note, I have been mulling over the need to find my true voice on this blog. For some reason, when I sit down to write a post, I slip into some other kind of weird alter ego where I am nice and polite and super excited about everything and I never swear or use any kind of witticism. Ever.

I also tend to use Americanisms like "thrifting" instead of "op shopping" (though I do like "thrifting" as a term in itself).
It may come as a slight surprise, dear readers, but I have actually spent most of my adult life writing and reading Art Theory, swearing like a fucking sailor, and chain smoking cigarettes. In my time, I have been a hardcore feminist, activist, punk, hippy, traveller, art student, painter, seamstress, cocktail waitress (don't ask.....or maybe do!!), bartender, writer of terrible typewritten poetry, and god knows what in between.

I think I just needed to get all of that out in the open, just so you don't think I'm some prissy little woman who sits at home embriodering her doilys. All power to you if you are a prissy woman, but it's just not me.

Hmmmm.... now this has turned into one of those posts you think twice about publishing, so I'm going to press that button before I chicken out.

Oh.... and the computer above shows Shim and Sons in all it's non-bloglines glory.
Cheers.

A Good Way to Start the Day...

2007-05-24T15:41:00.000+10:00

An email from my sister, introducing me to the newest addition to our family.......

Followed by some tea in the increasingly rare sun....

And some hand quilting practice.....

I read somewhere that there was a woman who set some new sewers a task: take two peices of fabric that are easy to sew together, and working from one end, hand sew the fabrics together working towards the other end; as you work, you'll be able to see your stitches go from being uneven and ragged, to fine, straight and beautiful, or so the theory goes!
Having intended to hand quilt the Patchwork number I have been working on, given that it is already paper pieced and ready to hand sew together, I figure, why not go the whole way and do the whole thing by hand???? (i know, I know...madness!)
Anyhoo, I found this hand quilting tutorial, and set to work with three layers of fabric, a layer of thick wool for the batting, sandwiched between two layers of cotton.
Well. I tell you what, this quilting caper aint for the faint hearted. As you can probably see, my stitches are freaking everywhere. Messy, ragged, uneven, and I tell you what....they're not getting straighter any time soon.

I think it might be time to go out and buy that walking foot and just machine quilt the thing. This is all beside the point that I haven't even pieced the bloody thing together yet because I can't for the life of me figure out a design I'm happy with.

But in the meantime, I'm enjoying playing around with this:

It's called Fabric Matcher, and it's an online qilting store that has a tool where you can match fabrics to a hex colour, a picture, by pattern, by complimentary or harmonious colour scheme, and more, and when you find the fabrics you like, they'll sell them to you by the half yard. Lots of fun.

And just to finish up, here's a quick photo of my finished "one-skein-cowl-project-that-turned-into-two-skein-bizarre-scarf-thingy-project"

I just took that picture on the webcam, hence it's terrible quality. It's a little bulkier than I wanted, but its two layers of knitting keeps my neck super warm, and in the end, that's exactly what it's for.....!!

Hope you're all having fun, wherever you are!

Today....

2007-05-23T19:24:00.001+10:00

Woken up by the postman ( about the only thing I am ever happy about being woken up for) with a much anticipated package from Repro Depot

Containing five yards of all those building blocks fabrics I have been meaning to buy for ages....

Oooooh I am so impressed, the measuring tape is even better in real life, and after seeing snippets of it in practically everyone's projects, I can't wait to put that yard to very good use.....

Then, back to bed for a little while, then up again to get the car towed to the mechanic, and some eggs for breakfast...

Followed by a lift into town to buy even MORE fabric, I tell you what, the bank balance is looking a little poor......

So I'd better get sewing so I can open my shop soon and sell something to finance the next lot of fabric madness!

Before I go though, a question for my fellow Aussies - is there anywhere you can recommend to buy fabric online in Australia? At the moment I'm getting things sent from the States at an alarming rate, and some local suppliers for quilt fabrics in good, clean, modern prints (no pink country living florals for me, I'm afraid), and also dress fabrics like lighter weight cottons, linens, wool suiting, anything really suitable for dressmaking would be fine by me? Any suggestions, my lovelies?

Well, the patterns are calling to be cut..... see you all soon! xxx

Woo Hoo!

2007-05-20T03:14:00.000+10:00

300 visitors! Colour me excited!

Stuck.

2007-05-18T15:27:00.000+10:00

Right now, I'm stuck at home with a car that won't start, a backseat full of washing I was going to take to the laundromat ( the bloody washing machine has broken) and a belly that is still complaining that it hasn't got it's favourite noodles for breakfast.

But in the spirit of making the best of the time until the roadside assistance people come, I have some pictures to show you......

These pictures are dedicated to the lovely Shula, whose gorgeous blog and knitting pursuits make me wish I were a more accomplished knitter, plus she got quite excited to hear that I live in a cemetery...... so here you go:

Work In Progress this week is a one skein cowl project that has somehow mutated into a two skein bizarre scarf thingy project.... perhaps a result of my refusal to follow any kind of pattern..... I tend to see something, say "I can make that" and just knit away, totally oblivious to the fact that I have NO IDEA what I'm doing! Patience? A Virtue?? What on earth are you talking about?????

I was planning to keep knitting at the laundromat, see, but instead I went out and took some promised photos of the cemetery.....

(see how those two photos are REALLY SMALL? That's becase if I put the medium sized ones in, blogger chops out the most important parts on the right hand side to fit them in my blog......GRRRRRR!!! If you want to see them at proper size, just click on them and you'll see a bigger one..... sorry!)

It's really old, the cemetery, dating back to the late 1800's, and sadly, it hasn't been cared for as it should have been, it's a bit drab, with hardly any plants or lawns, and the part next to the house is very bare and barren looking.....that's the house at the very end there in the picture below......

We only have one angel, she's for a woman named Florence.....

But it's the details that I like best......

And there is always some fake flowers.....at the moment there are quite a lot of flowers because of Mothers' Day....

It sounds a little depressing, I'm sure, but I actually love living here..... and it does have it's comical side, like when I need to light a fire and I venture out into the cemetery to collect some kindling, possibly in my bright red slippers and some random assortment of scarves and jumpers, and then people ride past on thier bikes and look at me like I'm the crazy cat lady or something...... I love the thought that the local kids might think I'm a witch, or that it's spooky, when, in fact, it's the most peaceful place I've ever lived, with the exception of the farm I grew up on.

Well, that's me for today, I'm off to make tea and look out for the magic car man.....xxx

Thrifted Thursday!

2007-05-17T18:45:00.000+10:00

Well, since my Thrifted Tuesday went so badly this week, I decided to have another go at it today, and man did I come home with the goods:

So, I'm sure you're like; how cute is that suitcase? But look! It's FULL OF FABRIC! I know, I know, I hit the jackpot today for fabric goodness... The suitcase was five dollars, perfect for adding to my vintage suitcase collection, and inside it is this brilliant stash of fabrics and linens:

My favourite so far is the yellow floral, but I'm sure my love affair with yellow has to peter out soon....(edited later: actually, I have just noticed that Blogger seems to cut the edge of all my photos off; in this one, neatly severing my favourite fabric from the picture. Does anyone know how to fix this? I don't want to post smaller photos....I want the page to expand to fit them! How??????)

Then, on my second op shop, I managed to find another stash of vintage sewing patterns, some vintage iron-on embroidery transfers, and this vintage sewing book:

Complete with gaudy photographs and loads of practical instructions on how to finish garments correctly, something which I can never seem to master....

And then, my favourite thing of all; two of these placemats, and some wooden fruit.

I tell you, I have been coveting some of this fruit for ages, and there they were, a pear and an apple, of all things, 50 cents each. Love them love them love them.

So if this wasn't even a picture heavy enough post for you, I'm not done yet! I've had four days off work this week, and the golden opportunity to do some sewing,and my first prototype for the shop is nearly done:

It's a girl's dress, size Three, completely reversible (obviously still unhemmed), and cute as freaking pie. I'm now completely decided on making more of these for the shop; though they won't all be reversible, but they will all have a contrasting facing in the bodice for extra cuteness inside. They have a pleat in the front, rounded shoulder tabs (which are hidden cause I haven't done the buttonholes yet) and vintage buttons on the shoulders.

If any of you out there have little girls, send me some comments on what you think!

Oh yeah, so, new dresses in mind, I also went shopping for new fabric:

Pretty much all of this fabric is for the dresses, except for the pink linen right on the bottom there - it was on sale, linen, for $2 a metre. I tell you, that's cheap in anybody's currency! As a general rule, I steer well clear of pink, I can't stand it. Blame it on a regressed childhood memory if you will, but I hate pink. But this stuff won me over cause it was soooooo cheap and I'm going to dye it so I don't have to look at it's fairy flossness til I throw up. Then I'm going to use some of it for the backing on the quilted baby blanket I posted about the other day.

And if that aint enough productivity for one day - I also updated the Ebay shop today too, with more to come in the next few days......

Whew! Now I need to have a cup of tea and cut out some patterns!

Covet Central

2007-05-16T19:50:00.000+10:00

Today, after a very dissapointing Thrifted Tuesday yesterday, where I arrived home EMPTY HANDED (!), I am a little grumpy and have not much to post about.

Except for the fact that I want this:

This cup is part of a collection from Bethan Laura Wood where the cup is glazed in such a way that it starts off white, and as you drink tea from it, the tea stains the cup, allowing an image to appear in the glaze. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.
I found her site via Bloesem, whose blog is pretty much an entire Covet Central, I want practically everything on there!

Well, that it for today I'm afraid, I'm off to see The Black Keys!

Finally.....

2007-05-12T16:05:00.000+10:00

After the last few months of organising, reassessing, dropping out of uni, resting, working, and farewelling of old friends, habits and worries, I have begun to make things again.

The studio is finally functional, and though, being in a heritage listed rental cottage, I don't have the permissions necessary to do a Heather, or indeed, a Manda,
at least I have a space where everything has a place, (well, nearly), and I can be comfortable, and work.

The Stash is coming along nicely, soon to be boosted with some purchases from
Cia's Palette (thanks Manda!)

And my new Work In Progress is a baby quilt, possibly for my sister, made from some gorgeous soft linen placemats I found the other day, patchworked and quilted.

And of course, one of my favourite things about living where I do: the view of the cemetery!

I live in what used to be the caretakers' cottage of a local cemetery.... the oldest graves come right up to the side of the house on one side, and date back as late as the 1800's. The cemetery runs alongside the major river of my city, and there is a bike path that leads to the city in one direction, and the sea in the other.

When the local council took over caring for the cemetery, they decided to rent out the cottage now that there was no longer any need for a caretaker, and that's where I come in. Though it's an unusual place to live, it's actually quite peaceful, and I love it dearly. Though sometimes I would trade it in, no question for a big house with lots of space, filled with natural light, in actual fact I would be very sad to leave.

One day, when I have some more time, I'll take some photographs out there to show you! But for now, I'm off to get some sewing done!

Thrifted Tuesday...

2007-05-08T19:07:00.000+10:00

It's apparent that I seem to go thrifting on Tuesdays, usually because it's my first day off for the week, coupled with the fact that it's payday....so here's to a new category - Thrifted Tuesday!

But first, this was waiting in the post box for me on getting up this morning....

My new kimono and Yukata panels from kimoYES, a fabulous, and well priced online store for vintage kimono and Yukata panels. It's so good to find somewhere in Australia to buy fabric, much of my online shopping comes from the US, and I'm always lamenting the exchange rate from Australian Dollars to Pounds- terrible!

Anyway, so onto the thrifting part.....

Today, a whole stash of vintage sewing patterns, 20 cents each!

Plus, a big shoebox full of vintage cottons on wooden spools, sewing threads, notions, and LOADS of linen thread, which I love.....

Now I just need to get my hands on one of those wooden spool holder racks that everyone in Blogland seems to have.....suppliers, anyone?

The rest of the day was spend clearing out the shed, so now all the boxes that up to this point have been stored in my studio, have been moved, and I've got a whole lot more space in there now.....ready for what I plan to be a full day of sewing tomorrow..... brilliant!

Sewing At Last....

2007-05-06T13:40:00.000+10:00

Finally, after the turmoil and organisational stress of the past two months, I have started sewing again. The studio isn't finished, I still haven't taken that patternmaking course, and I'm still VERY much self-taught, with slightly crooked seams and a bit of a disregard for rules, but what the hell.....

Right now it's little girls' dresses. Tomorrow it might be patchworked tea cozies..... who knows? But for now, I'm planning to stockpile, sew and sew and sew and sew, and eventually have enough to open my little shop. I hope those of you who take the time to look at this blog ( and I know you're there, cause the counter keeps on counting!) will have the patience to bear with me while I get this haphazard show on the road.

Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you posted with the results of my new determination......

Back.

2007-05-04T17:15:00.000+10:00

I'm freshly returned from my short trip to visit my family....a bittersweet mix of new pregnant bellies, gorgeous neices and nephews, and the sad loss of an old friend...

Having never lost anyone close to me before, I am reeling a little, but now that I am back in my own house again, it is clear that everything still goes on, despite the part of us that would live in the past and mull over memories......

And so, my first Completed Project, for my neice that heals my heart....

Unfortunately, getting active little girls to pose in new dresses is pretty much impossible, so you'll have to just take my word for it that she looks VERY cute wearing it....

The other benefit of family visits is country op shops..... of which I take full advantage when in that part of the world.....

Thrifted vintage trim - yards and yards of it, for $5 a card.....

A big haul of 80's enamel earrings, probably destined for Ebay....

A few books to expand my collection of Golden Hands - brilliant craft books from the 70's with kitsch instructions for all sorts of macrame, patchwork, applique, and knitted delights....!!

A handbag that gives true meaning to the term Plastic Fantastic!!!!

And then, on arriving home on a cold, rainy night, there was a much anticipated package from Superbuzzy, containing my Japanese Straight Stitch Dresses book.....

Full to the brim of lovely frocks I'm dying to make......

If only I can figure out the instructions..... all in Japanese!

Perhaps it's the last few days, being immersed in loss, but I find I have a huge desire to create something, to make something new and beautiful to put out into the world, I am always amazed by the way a realisation of mortality can motivate in ways that no other feeling can.... it's a strange mixture of recognising the futile and embracing the terribly important - a rearranging of prioroties, if you will....

I think that in our regular, busy lives, the time to reflect on such matters can be all too easily lost, and it's times like these that offer us a chance to reclaim that.... Without wanting to sound like an Oprah-esque self help guru, the last few days have made me realise that I am lucky, that my life contains a lot of special things, and my regrets are few and far between.... a good place to find yourself, methinks.....

Keep Calm and Carry On....

2007-04-28T17:01:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, this arrived in the mail:

Very apt. I'm heading off to Melbourne tomorrow to visit my family; so I won't be blogging much over the next week... my Dad, who just recently had surgery to remove a kidney, has ben diagnosed with cancer, (albeit a low level, rather contained form that should be manageable), and a very long term family friend, one who has become like an uncle to myself and my sisters, who has been fighting cancer for a while now, has been taken to hospital, and it looks like he has very little time left.

All in all, not the best circumstances for a family visit, but hopefully tempered by the happiness of seeing my sister's new pregnant belly, and my closest friend in the world who has just become engaged. As well as spending some time with my fabulous neice and nephew....

Sorry for such a depressing post, I have been making some things, but the photos will have to wait until I get back.

If you want to order the poster, you can do it here...

Packages sent with love....

2007-04-26T18:30:00.000+10:00

My fabulous Vintage Button Swap partner, Jen, posted her photos of what I sent her today.....as I forgot to photograph the package before I sent it, here are her pictures:

All bundled up:

And open for all to see! -

Jen was the most fantastic swap partner, I wish she had a blog I could link you to, but alas!

I also did a bit of shopping today, culminating in these exciting goodies....

From my favourite Op Shop, two pretty blue and white side plates, both for $1...

Plus this cute little art deco bowl, also $1....

From the fabric shop, some new fabrics, to be made into skirts, plus some ric rac, which I am having a renewed love affair with at the moment - must be memories of growing up in hand made clothes......

And some divine rosewood knitting needles, for a one skein cowl pattern I'm going to have a bash at....

And finally, the latest issue of Frankie Magazine,

Which I love for its photo spreads like these.....

Plus, they have a different artist do a poster every month which is included free in the magazine....it's gorgeous.......

And after all that, I also managed to do some sewing! The Machine, (which I have just found out is actually called Betty - perfect!) is up and running, and sewing like a dream, but after such a photo heavy post, I think I'll leave it there and post photos of the skirt I made another time....

I hope your day has been as productive as mine....!

Presents in the Post.

2007-04-20T16:49:00.000+10:00

Today a package arrived from my sister.....

A huge parcel of vintage cotton fabric she had been given, and decided to share the love with me!

Which works out well, because I'm in the process of making a dress for my niece (her daughter), which, once I have the sewing machine up and running, should be in the post within the week....

As it's getting cold here, I've decided to make it out of a brown wool, in kind of a flecked tweedy weave, lined with bright red cotton. The patchwork will make the pockets, and I'm in the process of hand stitching the binding around the edges (again, no sewing machine.....hand stitching is HARD)

It's going to be a little pinafore dress, made from this vintage pattern, the one without the frill...

But again, waiting on The Machine.......

The Machine was given to me by a wonderful generous friend and his mother,when they found out I had to return the machine I had been borrowing for the last four years! It's a bloody heavy thing, but I'm sure you'll agree, it's gorgeous! Two stitches, straight and zig zag!

The only problem is, when my friend gave it to me, he forgot to grab the presser foot as well, so I've been waiting for him to go and visit his mum again so he can pick it up and I can play with my new toy! OOOOooooooh I can't wait.....
Hopefully that will happen this weekend, and I can finally start making some things, and have some work to show on this blog that I set up for, well, that very purpose!
Also: if anyone knows ANYTHING about these kinds of sewing machines, can you leave a comment? I can't seem to find any info on the net about it, and I'd love to get my hands on an old manual or something..... Cheers!

Hope you're all having a brilliant day!

Covet Central.....

2007-04-19T17:31:00.000+10:00

Today I am coveting fabrics....

This is Sandy Klop's American Jane....

Kokka Fabrics' Charcoal Pear....

ANYTHING by Etsuko Furuya....this is Blue Birds....

They can all be found at Purl, where I would spend all my money but the exchange rate and postage costs from the States are a tiny bit prohibitive......(not quite enough though, so I may be in danger next pay packet.......)

In the meantime, I have consoled myself by buying a few vintage kimono peices and a vintage war poster off the net, and as soon as they arrive, I'll be sure to show you!

There's also a work in progress, which I may unveil tomorrow.....see you then!

Cup of The Day......

2007-04-17T18:59:00.000+10:00

In the spirit of photographing one's breakfast, I have recently found a Flickr group where people post photographs of thier favourite beverages in thier favourite cups......

Being a mad teacup collector, the idea of having an excuse to photograph my crockery was too good to pass up, so I am now a proud member of Cup of The Day!

The heart shaped shortbreads were made by a lovely Greek friend of mine....she tells me that her Grandmother taught her to flick Ouzo on them whilst warm, so the icing sugar sticks......

I went on a little thrift shop run today, and managed to score a whole stack of 12 vintage zippers for $1!

As well as a cute woven wicker bag with brilliant leather toggle and handles, as well as a suitably kitsch cotton lining....

The wicker is plastic coated, which I wouldn't normally prefer, but I will mean that it will last longer, and won't get that frayed look that woven things eventually succumb to......

I'm quite pleased with it now, but I'm VERY fickle when it comes to bags, so it may well appear in my Ebay store sometime in the future.....

Before I go, I'd like to introduce you to my partner..... He is generally a VERY private person, which is why I don't talk about him much on this blog, but I don't think he would mind me sharing this photo with you.....

Lets just say that drinking three bottles of wine on a Sunday night always ends up with something random......!

Well, I'm off to make some more tea and scoff some more of those yummy shortbreads.... I hope there's tea and biscuits wherever you are today!

Breakfast.

2007-04-14T17:57:00.000+10:00

Seems I have developed a bit of a habit of taking photos of my breakfast.....

Who knows why? Perhaps it's something to do with the combinations of the crockery I use.... Having a bit of a passion for vintage crockery, I love all my plates, cups and bowls dearly, for different reasons. Putting together different combinations is part of my breakfast ritual, and asking my partner which particular teacup he feels like today is one of the regular things we do....

But at least I know I'm not the only one with a penchant for photographing my breakfast.....

I recently discovered the blog of Jen, a photographer from Brooklyn in New York, who regularly photographs her breakfast, too! Her lush photos can be found on her blog: Simply Breakfast. Cute.

Home Is Where the Art Is.....

2007-04-13T16:11:00.000+10:00

I'm feeling a little poorly today, my partner has had a touch of a cold, and now I'm feeling rather low energy.....

So, here is a lazy post. one where I show you a few things around my house....

Above is a selection of button badges I made that form a little frieze in the bathroom.....

This is a set of Ikea frames with various little collages, and magazine cutouts, also in the bathroom....(the are blu-tacked to the wall, and keep moving around and falling off.... does anyone have a non-mark-leaving hanging solution for small things? )

This one is a wooden tree that used to hold candles, but it has lost its practical function and now just serves as an aesthetic piece.... the collages are a product of my time at art school....these were made sometime in my third year, and are about the only things I have actually kept from that time....

The words on the canvases are old words that I collect that no-one uses anymore....The front one says 'ithyphallic', which means, 'impure, indecent', and the other one says 'aprosexia', which means, 'inability to concentrate'.

This morning, fuzzy headed, as I waited for the kettle to boil, I was struck by the colour combination of my crockery....

The green bowl I have had for years, and it's actually quite chipped, but the red mug is a new addition. My taste in mugs couldn't be any different than my taste in teacups..... the bigger the better, and no chintzy, florally details for me....!

There was also a little op shopping mission up into the Adelaide Hills with my work friend, Kari yesterday.....the results?

MORE vintage buttons, and some fabulous bright green (actually brighter than the photo shows) striped fabric that is destined to become a skirt....I think I'll incorporate some of those lovely big black buttons, too.

Well, that said, I'm off to scrub the bath and blow my nose.... I hope the change of season is being kind to you!

Crap.

2007-04-13T01:47:00.000+10:00

I just had a wonderful post all typed up and designed and now the bloody blogger thingy doesn't like something in the code.

Poo!

Maybe I'll try again tommorrow, sorry. :-(

Wardrobe Remix and Other Pursuits.....

2007-04-11T19:45:00.001+10:00

wardrobe remix, originally uploaded by paperstringcloth.

As mentioned before, I have joined the Wardobe Remix group over at Flickr, hosted by the fab Tricia and Jenny. This is my first contributuion to the group......

I'm wearing.......

Mustard cardigan from thrift shop, accented with vintage cloth covered buttons by me....grey jersey button down henley top from Cotton On (chain store), handmade black cotton wrap skirt with red pinstripe lining, made by me..... and my new fabulous $3 thrifted brazillian woven leather slingback wedge flats! Also included; A Concise History of Modern Art by Herbert Read, my vintage suitcase collection and my partner's vintage Apple Mac collection!

It's amazing how difficult it is to take a decent photograph of yourself, I am actually not very photogenic, so I have to take millions of shots before I get one where I'm not pulling some kind of pained-looking expression....!

In other news, I managed a great big trip to the Op Shops today, with some good results:

A big haul of vintage buttons, which will help me when I go to send off my button swap package this week!

Plus a bit of a renovation project; this 50's corner unit with one cupboard and three shelves, cute etched glass door, and pink laminate...$10! I think a coat of paint and a good clean will have this one ready for installing in the hallway, where we need somewhere to dump our keys, the mail, etc etc.

I also bought a whole stack of other things, knitting needles, some plastic beaded necklaces, some fabric remnants, but I won't bore you to death with ALL the photos!

I've been doing a bit of work on my studio, which is looking much more organised, but somehow I don't think I'll be satisfied until I convince myself that I really DO need that fabulous big, roomy white bookshelf I saw in IKEA the other day.....It really would look perfect with all my new jars of sewing notions, my neatly folded and stacked fabric collection, and the storage boxes now stuffed full of vintage dress patterns........ la la la la ......the ways we justify spending money we don't have!

I'm also working on some listings for the Ebay store, but here's a sneak preview, just for you.....

All Sorts of News.....

2007-04-10T17:03:00.000+10:00

This week has been a big week for news in the big, life-altering sense...

First of all, my Dad is going into hospital next week to have a kidney removed. They are pretty sure it's nothing serious, but he has a growth on one kidney that shouldn't be there, so they are going to take it out, just to make sure. For a big, strong, farming man who has never had anything really more serious than a head cold, this is a pretty big deal.

The second bit of news is that my sister has fallen pregnant, after a short course of IVF, which is fantastic news! I'm already an aunty twice over thanks to my other sister, but more nieces and nephews are absolutely fine by me!

And THEN, today, my best friend of many years has called to tell me she's getting married! Which is kind of crazy, because we aren't really the kind of people who do the whole weddings thing, I imagine this will be a rather left of centre service, not your traditional wedding at all. Which sounds fantastic, and I'm so happy that she has found someone that she feels she can share such a commitment with.....and it will be my first proper wedding in my circle of friends, which is even more exciting!

As for me, my life is seeming rather quiet compared to everyone else's!

Today started with eggs on toast, and a little bit of arranging in the house, my new Ikea vases found thier new home.

Followed by a spot of op shopping, which resulted in me being the proud owner of this fabulous/ridiculous chicken shaped basket!

Another trip to Ikea for some storage boxes also ended up with me indulging my new, weird passion for yellow, by buying this quilt cover for the bed. Our bed is usually quite sedate, we've had a chocolate brown quilt for AGES, and even though this is way brighter than anything I would usually own, and will probably give us nightmares, I couldn't resist!

I'm happy to see that I am not alone in this new found love of yellow - Manda from TreeFall has been having exactly the same experience with yellow as me. And, like me, she hated it before. WHY? What were we thinking? Will I hate it again next week? Who knows?!

There are also some more Vintage Goodies in my Ebay store, if you are so inclined....

A navy and white spotted shift dress,

Some, well......... Yellow, high waisted, skiiny leg, 80's pants!

An 80's geometric shift dress in black, blue and white....

And a pair of fantastic vintage tennis bloomers with little racquet applique!

And now that I'm on the computer, I may just do a few more listings... so look out for those!

Fun Things To Do On The Internet. #2

2007-04-09T00:24:00.000+10:00

Actually, sometimes this site isn't fun. Sometimes it's heartbreaking, or weird, or inspiring, and sometimes it's funny. It started as an art project where strangers were invited to send thier secrets in on a postcard, decorated however they wished. As it grew and grew, the artist behind the project, Frank Bryce, started posting them on the internet. New sectrets are posted every Sunday. Compelling reading!

Visit PostSecret to see this Sunday's secrets......

Fun Things To Do On The Internet.

2007-04-07T18:39:00.000+10:00

Get your name in lights......(and possibly win the same for real...)

I got my name in lights with notcelebrity.co.uk

I hearby call the end to a post-heavy day!

New Knowledge:

2007-04-07T17:59:00.000+10:00

Here's something cute I learned whilst doing my General Knowledge crossword in the paper today:

"From an Icelandic word meaning prosperity, what means to be frugal and careful with money?"

answer: Thrifty!

Who would have thought that so many of us casually use a word originating in Icelandic?

Work In Progress

2007-04-07T17:18:00.000+10:00

Funny that I should start this blog, celebrating things that are made by hand, at the exact time that I decide to take a break from sewing and creating, to get my mind together. I recently dropped out of my Honours degree in Art History in order to reconnect with my creativity.

I spent ten years at art school, making and painting and drawing, and by natural progression I ended up in the theory department. I adore art theory, I love to write, and an intellectual challenge is always welcome, but this last year, I have had itchy hands. I just wanted to go back to making things, and give my brain a rest. 10 years of study is a huge amount of time! So now I am taking a well-deserved break, and though I am absolutely planning a million projects in my head, it's very important for me to ensure that my work space is organised first, and that I take a rest from all plans in order to recharge my batteries, and get back my motivation.

I do, however, have a work in progress....

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make a patchwork quilt from scratch, the old fashioned way. The whole process seemed so daunting, until I decided just to start making the paper pieced sqares, one by one, and stashing them. No pressure for completion, just a few squares every now and then. Also, my fabric stash isn't huge, so everytime I pick up a new fabric, I make sure to make a few squares out of it first.

With a bit of sewing in front of the tv, and just a few squares here and there, I suddenly looked at the stash the other day, and it's HUGE! 116 squares already, and I've barely even noticed making them. BRILLIANT.

They are all bright, mismatched, predominantly vintage cottons, and hopefully, one day, they will be made into a something gorgeous. Like a quilt, perhaps? Now I just have the sew all the bloody things together! HA!

Ebay Store full of goodies!

2007-04-05T18:37:00.000+10:00

Just letting you guys know that I have listed some new things on Ebay today, with more to follow in the next few days.....Happy Shopping!

Green polka dot cotton smock dress with neck and hem ruffle...yum!

Fantastic lemon yellow vintage 50's swimsuit with boned bodice and pleated skirt...oooh and button up straps...DIVINE...

Teal green kimono/haori with waist sash, russet lining, and cute japanese umbrella print...

Nautical anchor sailor top with applique and purple details...original tags too!

Vintage Oroton red and white neck scarf......

And some fabulous oversized blue French vintage sunglasses!

Organised?

2007-04-05T00:00:00.000+10:00

When I look at other people's sites, I am always amazed by the incredible spaces they have created for themselves to work in. Thus, my mission is to get organised, to find a place for everything, to have all my materials readily accessible and looking gorgeous. One of the people who totally freaks me out with her crazy neat studio is Heather Bailey. Even though her style is completely different to my own, and I tend to be rather haphazard, and more kitsch that chintzy, her studio is amazingly neat and well put together. In kind of a pink way. In fact, my personal style is probably more along the lines of Tricias, with some brighter colours and vintage bits, but an overall modern feel. All I want is a nice, clean, white space, with storage solutions that show off my materials...... is that too much to ask?

I have a tiny little room off my front verandah that I am in the process of tearing apart. It has suffered the poor fate of being that random space into which you throw anything that doesn't have a place, and in my notoriously storage-lacking house (not even a linen cupboard! NOTHING!) that means, well, pretty much everything. So, in order to embarrass myself into doing something about it, I am posting some photos of it here in its current state. aaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh.........

Actually, I have done some work on it since these were taken, and now at least the fabric collection is folded and colour matched, and there isn't crap all over the floor anymore. BUT. There is Still More Work To Be Done.

In the meantime, however, I have been procrastinating by working on Ebay listings..... All of this stuff will be in the shop soon.... There's quite a few frocks, some sunnies, handbags and purses, a vintage bathing suit, a couple of skirts and tops......mmmmmmm.....vintage goodies!

Man, I just realised how awful the photos are in this post.....mess and piles of clothes.....sorry!

My Home + Thrifty goodness.....

2007-04-04T13:13:00.000+10:00

There's a bit of a trend in sharing corners of your home in blogland. I love seeeing pictures of other people's houses, and even though I know that we all shove the mess under the table and only photograph the best bits, I ENVY other people's spaces.

Especially people who live in (seemingly) well-lit, light and airy houses with big rooms......I live in a heritage listed cottage that is the old caretaker's house for a local cemetery (the graves come right up to the wall on one side of the house; some dating back to the late 1800's). I love my house. For a cottage of it's type, it's actually quite big. But it's DARK in here. The windows are smallish and in the wrong places. There is only one window leading out to the cemetery side, which is where all the afternooon sun comes from. It's a pity.

However, I have taken some pictures to show you where I live. (apologies in advance for the poor lighting; I tend to take most of my photos around the house at night after a few too many glasses of wine!)

This is the loungeroom, with my favourite purple chair, the record player I've been meaning to get repaired for ages, and the window onto the cemetery....

I have a bit of a typewriter addiction....if I see one in the Op Shop I can't leave it there! This photo combines a few of my favourite things... my best Remington Rand desktop typewriter, a glass of good red, my favourite books, and photos of my family and dearest friends....

I also have a bit of a thing about teacups and vintage crockery... I love anything that involves a ritual, and making tea is one of my favourites...There's someting comforting about proper tea, made from a pot, with mismatched cups and saucers, and hopefully a little cake or two....

In other news, my collection of vintage sewing patterns has swelled considerably after a bonanza thrift run the other day, twelve new patterns for $6! I have also been given a gorgeous vintage semi-industrial sewing machine, so I am now all set to begin sewing for my new etsy shop, which I'm hoping will be up and running very soon...

Well, that's it from me today, I'm off to have my favourite noodles for lunch, and then to a beer tasting at work....Have a beautiful day!

Thrifty Goodness.....

2007-03-30T15:14:00.000+10:00

Phew!

After buying my new digital camera yesterday (a Nikon D40 if you're curious) and selling my soul to the local department store for the remainder of my interest-free period, I thought today might be a good day to splash around some of that birthday cash that I didn't put down on the camera!

And today was my lucky day....I found more stuff today than I have in weeks of Op Shopping, and I thought I'd share the results:

A gorgeous little brown tweed hard style suitcase...(perfect for keeping sewing supplies in)...$5!

A huge lot of colour themed patchwork swatch packages...$4 each (I bought four!)

A bag of mixed vintage green buttons...$2.

A lovely cake plate on a bakelite stand...$2...( I have been hanging out for one of these for ages...an excuse to have a tea party!)

And last but not least, this book by DAVID HICKS on ways with fabric! If you're not sure why this one is in the bunch, check out the Wikipedia entry on the whole saga.....living in Australia, this issue is saturating the media lately, and finding something lighthearted like a frivolous fabric book by someone named David Hicks just tickles my sense of the absurd.....

In other bloggy news, I have also signed up for Wardrobe Remix, a Flickr group where funky people post photos of thier fabulous outfits to share with other street-wise fashionistas!

I also managed to drop out of Uni today, eat my favourite noodle soup for lunch, catch up with a friend for a quick chat and some Chinese tea, and organise a bit of my fabric stash.... What a productive day!

Another Day. Another Scarf.

2007-03-29T01:23:00.000+10:00

There seems to be a pattern emerging......
Even though it is still warm here, I am really coveting winter clothes right now. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year - cool enough to start layering clothes again (one of my favourite passtimes), but not so cold that I want to die...(having hardly any body fat DOES have its disadvantages, you know!)

anyway:

Two new Op Shop finds.... a lovely v neck grey wool vest, all I had to do was take the side seams in...

plus a Hand-Knitted-By-My-Local-Volunteering-Grandmas red wool scarf with a cute little lace rib stitch in it. Lovely.

As you can probably tell from the terrible photo, I still haven't managed to buy a new digital camera yet. I'm pretty sure I've picked The One though, so I'm off tomorrow to lash myself to two years of monthly repayments, but hey, my photos should be GORGEOUS!

Just on the winter knit note: I'll leave you with this lush knit by Eley Kishimoto....mmmmmmm

Swap.

2007-03-28T12:54:00.000+10:00

I have just signed up for Shim+Sons vintage button swap! Woot!

Birthday

2007-03-23T16:31:00.000+11:00

Today is my birthday..... and in lieu of the new digital camera I am planning to buy as a birthday present, I am using photobooth on my mac instead to show you my new scarf....
For some reason I have this new obsession with yellow. I have never worn yellow, I have had pretty much a hate/hate relationship with it all my life, yet for some reason I am suddenly OBSESSED with it.
I'm not usually the kind of person to be swayed by the vagaries of fashion - if something I already love suddenly comes into style, I'll usually stock up, wait for the fad to pass, and THEN start wearing it. But this yellow thing seems to be different.
So far, I have made/thrifted/bought:

a bright, 80's ish yellow and white striped t-shirt,
a yellow singlet,
a yellow scarf,
AND
a pair of fab vintage bright yellow platform heels.

So far I am tending towards the mustard-y tones rather than canary, but hey, who knows what's next?

I am also laying the blame for this new colour obsession on Tricia Royal, whose gorgeous blog, Bits and Bobbins is a riot of colour, and a beutifully presented blog about her obsession with colour. Wonderful.

Anyway, that's enough from me, I'm off to do something luscious to celebrate my birth.....Cheers!

oh, and just to prove my point, here's some Nina Ricci from the Fall 07 collection!

Sustainable Fashion?

2007-03-14T17:12:00.000+11:00

I read an article recently by a fashion columnist who was flirting with the idea of Compacting – which is basically a philosophy of not buying anything new other than essential items like food, toiletries and basic necessities. Being a self-proclaimed fashionista, she found the concept pretty hard to grasp, but thought she would try it for a month, and was surprised at how easy it ended up to be.

At the time, I scoffed a little at this “poor” woman, who had to go without her designer bags and fabulous shoes and crazily expensive frocks for a month…..what drama!

But the column got me thinking about my own consumption habits, and I was pleasantly surprised…..

Basically, in the past year, things I have bought new include:

1 pair of black boots (Doc Martens, for work and everyday wear…)

undies

socks

1 pair black jeans

5 or so plain t-shirts and/or singlets (for work again- I’m a bartender)

one or two pieces of Ikea furniture.

On the other hand, the things I have bought from Thrift shops/ Op Shops include:

Various t-shirts/tops

3 – 4 pairs of jeans

3 pairs of shoes

about 6 or so frocks

various belts

lots of headscarves

lots of random bits of jewellery, brooches, necklaces, etc

beads/ sewing supplies

sewing patterns

fabrics – made into clothing/craft projects

loads of books

various bits of furniture

a record player cabinet

a lot of old maps/paper ephemera

various handbags

and the list goes on……

Looking at my wardrobe, I can safely say that 90% of it is thrifted or handmade. I love the fact that most of my shopping is done outside of the mass produced consumer mainframe. I love the thrill of the hunt that Op Shopping provides, and the sheer joy of finding something fabulous in a sea of dross can keep me going for days.

I enjoy fashion, and I love clothes, and buried deep inside me is a woman who would love a handmade Fendi bag that costs the same as a small house, but all in all, it’s not necessary. My wardrobe is all the more creative, fabulous and eclectic due to the fact that none of it cost more than, say, $50, and that almost every cent of my fashion purchasing has gone to charities in my local area.

Who would want to shop any other way?

Welcome to my blog. I am a twenty-something bartender and Art History student living in Australia, and I’d like to share a little of my life with you. I have been reading and lurking in many craft blogs for a long time, and I thought it was time to come out and play. I’m looking forward to sharing my time and projects with you.

paper.string.cloth

Moving time....

Swapping Makes The World Go 'Round...

Thrifted Tuesday....

They Try to Make Me Go to Rehab, I Say No, No, No....

Onwards and Upwards....

On the Horror of the Collective Unconscious....

Retail Therapy....

Ta....

Absence makes the quilt grow faster....

Flashback Friday.

paper.string.cloth - open for business!

Flickr Favourites

Flashback Friday + Fabric Porn....

ha!

New Nongs....

Thrifted Tuesday....

Slow Week....

Resolution...

Fabric, and where to find it.....

Thrifted Tuesday...

Work In Progress and.....

Link Love.....

Thrifted Tuesday..

Pincushion Tutorial!

Still Standing...

If On a Rainy Night.....

Breakfast Sunday

Manifesto of Sorts....

Little Things....

Fabulous Favourites From Flickr....

And A Bit More......

A Little Bit of Finished.....

Back......(well, sort of)

Oh my.....

Broken.....

Excuse Me?

I'm as Warm as Warm Can Be......

Thrifted Tuesday + Vintage Hilarity....

On the Perils of Winter....

Self Portrait Saturday

It's Late....

I Heart Saturdays.

Simple Things....

Thrifted Tuesday + Blog Crush.....

Internet Frustration.....

A Good Way to Start the Day...

Today....

Woo Hoo!

Stuck.

Thrifted Thursday!

Covet Central

Finally.....

Thrifted Tuesday...

Sewing At Last....

Back.

Keep Calm and Carry On....

Packages sent with love....

More presents in the Post!

Presents in the Post.

Covet Central.....

Cup of The Day......

Breakfast.

Home Is Where the Art Is.....

Crap.

Wardrobe Remix and Other Pursuits.....

All Sorts of News.....

Fun Things To Do On The Internet. #2

Fun Things To Do On The Internet.

New Knowledge:

Work In Progress

Ebay Store full of goodies!

Organised?

My Home + Thrifty goodness.....

Thrifty Goodness.....

Another Day. Another Scarf.

Swap.

Birthday

Sustainable Fashion?