Onwards and Upwards....

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

Retail Therapy....

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....

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

Flickr Favourites

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....

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!

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

fantastic.
xxx

Thrifted Tuesday....

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

Resolution...

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

Work In Progress and.....

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.....

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!

Manifesto of Sorts....

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....

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

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

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......

Broken.....

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

Thrifted Tuesday + Vintage Hilarity....

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!

Self Portrait Saturday

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!

Simple Things....

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.....

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......)