The Loveliest Thing

mission accomplished!

2010-04-28T14:19:00.004+10:00

well, thanks for your help. They are officially called "Bamileke Feather Headdress", so I was sort of on the right track - gee they are expensive, but effective I think.
see more here if you would like to buy one. I am a little obsessed by them. Also called 'Tsa Ntang Disc' they are traditionally worn by royal dancers of the Kuosi Society during important ceremonies held by the Chief. Originally made from parrot feathers, a symbol of prosperity, they are seen as rare objects of beauty possessing the positive qualities of birds.

hello.

2010-03-31T14:43:00.001+11:00

come and visit me over here - I'm having a slight change of pace!

Well, here she is............

2010-02-09T14:51:00.004+11:00

Its a very proud moment - and only really now am I starting to feel the impact of school - everyday, 9am til 3:30pm - I can really understand what people say - make the most of those younger years! so true, but so hard sometimes too! She is so full of life and loving every moment of school - hope it stays like that.

that's what friends are for.............

2010-02-08T13:56:00.003+11:00

hi there - lots been happening around here - not much in the crafty way, but more to do with the kiddywinks.
Number one has spread her very beautiful butterfly wings and started school, well she is 6 and all. I think we were both very ready for this to happen and so far so good. She has transitioned beautifully and every day has been really exciting for her. Shes making new friends, she got her grade 6 Buddy (Sean - yes a boy!), she's even learning the school prayer - so much for my little girl to take in.
I will post a photo of her on her first day soon.

Now back to "thats what friends are for"............. take a peek here - my very special friend has been doing a little (or a lot!) of sewing and hand quilting for me - how lucky am I.....................she has a real talent you know - she just knows how to bring a quilt alive, and to think I get to keep some of her magical work, and call it my own - how can I ever thank her enough????

Finally....

2009-10-07T13:26:00.002+11:00

Ok, sewing mojo finally returning, went here to get some fabric to finish my quilt that I started some time ago - I got a little disheartened after I didn't buy enough fabric for the back on my last trip to Amitie. Thankfully Lisa set me straight and solved all my problems and made a very good suggestion, I am now back on track and hopefully will be working on completing this very soon, more of that later. The fabric on the left was a "just because" buy - I really like it!

A very special something for me!

2009-10-07T13:14:00.002+11:00

My very crafty friend put this together for me wrapped beautifully in an Est. Linen Tea Towel. I am going to use it for my very special craft thingies, but for now, it is sitting very proudly on my sideboard in the dining room - to good to be hidden away.

look what I got in the mail............

2009-10-03T15:13:00.006+10:00

I have been admiring her work for some time. I love ALL her bags and wallets - how could a girl just choose one? Well I did and this is how it arrived in the mail.

Beautifully packaged

Perfect for a mummy on the go - I promise to love them forever!

Blah Blah Blah..........

2009-10-01T10:00:00.003+10:00

well it has been some time since you last heard from me, I have been a little pre-occupied with moving and to be quite honest for a little while there i thought i had lost my interest in sewing/crafting.....how ridiculous I hear you saying, well its true.

Anyway I think I am back on the wagon, I am trying very hard, cause you see I really love this thing called craft, in the past it has provided me with some great personal satisfaction, in a life that is full of mum, mum, mum! hear what I am saying??????

So its back on track from me and here's to seeing a little bit more craft from me.
No pictures today but hopefully soon!!!!

not quite right

2009-08-02T20:12:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Lisa I didn't turn up to Amitie on Friday just gone, I got my days mixed up - been happening a little bit lately - too much on I think. The sale is on this Friday and I am hanging out. Hope we have time to squeeze in a coffee.
The other thing that is not quite right is some of the photo's I am posting - sorry if you have to turn your head to the side to view them properly - I plan to get better at that too!

Now for something that is right, I sewed up my quilt this weekend and so now I have two ready to be finished off - very pleased with myself - I will post some pics once complete.
Feeling very tired after a big weekend, did lots of demolishing to the new house - very exciting, pulled up all the flooring and pulled out the old kitchen - only 26 days to go, but who's counting............

a "twirly for a girly" and my "to do list".............and yes the move!

2009-07-30T09:01:00.012+10:00

Firstly, take a look at my work space - we are in the middle of packing and getting things organised for the move - it's not ideal but its what I have to work with at the moment - here's hoping that the space at the new house is a bit better!

I have finally found a pattern to do my quilt - it's only single size, that will be fine to start with for me. I had enough fabric in my stash to do the top - it's all cut and ready to be sewn - more of this later........

This is Matthew's quilt top complete - just a sneak peek - now I need to visit the Amitie Sale tomorrow (woops - next Friday (7th) - thanks Lisa!) and buy the the binding and back and then I can get this off my "to do" list finally, well then there is the quilting to be done so maybe I should not be so quick to give it a tick - anyway little steps.

I made this skirt from the very very easy free pattern - Lazy Days Skirt by oliver + s

Amelia loves it - I especially love the material which was a bargain buy from Spotlight.

I plan to make a few more of these for Summer, it took about an hour if that.

and finally...........

2009-07-12T21:32:00.005+10:00

I went to my mum and dad's house the weekend before last - and saw the quilt I made her - remember this - it has inspired me to do my own - It is so beautiful and a little bit vintage too.

On the way to my mum's house I found a vintage store in a little country town - I found the perfect house for these...............

Isn't it just beautiful - I have discovered that I love old tins and now it is my aim to fill it with buttons that I am collecting from thrift shops and old clothes!

And finally, I went through my stash and choose 20 of my favorite fabrics to do my very own quilt, I have been keeping these aside and adding to them here and there. I can't explain the feeling I get when I look at this stack, but it's really what all this crafting is about. I am not sure if I need to add any more to it, as I have used little bits of some of them to do some smaller projects - anyway its a start and now all I need to do is decide on a pattern for my quilt, stay tuned it will arrive, its just a matter of when!

a couple of finished projects

2009-07-02T08:50:00.006+10:00

I have been working on some projects that have been sitting in my "to finish" basket, don't worry there is still more to be done, but it's a start.

Another little doll for Amelia and this one has a little baby and a skirt made from some of Amelia's baby clothes. The baby is from a KristenDoran panel, that i finally started cutting into.

I don't know how she got herself into this photo but she did, she had to be included. She is away at the moment at my mum and dad's - gee it is so quite without her. It is our first away time, and I am missing her terribly.

This is Pongo, made especially for Matthew - i bought the fabric from Amitie on their sale day and have been deliberating for some time about what to do with it - well here it is. The pattern was from the Meet me at Mikes book. Nice one!

woops - there she is again!

I finally finished the Dolls quilt for Amelia. It did highlight that I do need some more practice with binding, but I was ok with the finished product. And on top of the quilt is a special dolly inspired by dearfii and her doll pattern in Homespun. I am very happy with her and plan to try some more.

some little treasures

2009-06-06T17:19:00.005+10:00

lisa and I stopped by here and I added these to my stash, just because!

I have been having a bit of troubled with needles and thread lately, problem solved, my cleverfriend came to the rescue. How would I craft without her? Anyway, not only did she recommend these, she went and got them for me too - how kind. I am looking forward to testing them out.

Boo!

2009-06-03T21:10:00.002+10:00

Yes it's me...did I scare you?
I know its been awhile, so much going on. Well firstly I have to say that I found out today that my blog has been mentioned on livingcreatively. I am so excited to be mentioned - wow how unbelievable. They have mentioned me under the Softies sub title. Never thought of myself as a full on Softies maker - but when I take a look back over my blog there are a lot of them.....if you get a chance take a look at the site - it has lots of great stuff - it's my home page.

I have been a bit slack in posting lately - we have bought and sold houses since my last post and anyone who has gone through that process with kiddies will agree it's pretty stressful, but I am so excited to be moving and most importantly a space for my sewing bits.

promise to write more soon and of course show some pictures.......

x

a picture of me

2009-05-07T22:35:00.003+10:00

I was lucky enough to receive this beautiful picture this week from my very talented daughter for Mother's day - can you see my gold necklace and belt???? Amelia did this at kinder and I will treasure it forever.

Mother's Day

2009-05-07T22:08:00.003+10:00

or should I say Happy Nana's day - I got the kids to draw a picture of what their Nana and Grandma looked like, I then copied it onto some fabric and hand stitched it and this is the result - not too bad - still need to finish Grandma's.

a little bunny rattle for a little someone

2009-04-25T21:13:00.003+10:00

this picture does not do this little bunny rattle any justice - I made this for a special friend who has just had her second daughter - I knew she would love it just as much as me - hope Lainey loves it too. I loved making her special tag (the picture was taken from a vintage golden book) and card, definately a favorite so far.

giggles

2009-04-19T22:30:00.004+10:00

Lisa and I went to the stitches and craft fair in Melbourne, it was pouring rain and we were so excited to be there. We decided to make a run through the rain and head over to the craft lab. A class was about to begin - fabric canvas' with the lovely Cathy. Little did we know it was a kids class, we giggled for almost the entire class and I made this beautiful Babushka (of course) that now takes pride of place in Amelia's room. Lisa made a little birdie.

Introducing Mabel

2009-04-19T22:18:00.002+10:00

I have been a little slack this week with my posts - I am going to try and post everything I make (good and bad alike), I made Mabel for my mum - she loves her!

I am also pretty happy with my stamp - I got it from here.

stamps

2009-04-08T14:30:00.002+10:00

I have been looking here and deciding what to get - I love her personalised stuff, and they ship to Australia. Aren't they great.

look what I found!

2009-04-08T14:00:00.003+10:00

how lucky am I, I found these in a local thrift shop very cheap - I plan to keep some as they are in pristine condition, the rest I plan to cut up and make some vintage gift tags .....more of that later.

Easter

2009-04-06T14:30:00.004+10:00

a little moopy bunny for my beautiful nephew for Easter - hope he likes him!

ummm..........

2009-04-06T08:55:00.001+10:00

I think I am slowly getting the hang of this blogging............

A little something for number three

2009-04-06T08:41:00.001+10:00

I went with lisa to Amitie on their 20% off day to get some fabric for Matthew's quilt, Lisa helped me choose it and this is where I am up to. His first birthday is fast approaching, I have a feeling I am not going to have it ready in time - lucky he has the cushion. I also made these little tags for him.

bunny rattle

2009-04-06T08:30:00.000+10:00

well I had a little time on the weekend and I dragged my sister in law into help. Actually she made one as well. I have been wanting to make this for a little while. I thought it would make a beautiful baby gift with a rattle/bell in it. I am really happy with the end product.

getting to now......

2009-04-05T19:54:00.001+10:00

My sewing space

I love my Horn Sewing Cabinet - It was Jim's Aunty's, who passed away. I feel very lucky to have it and it makes it easy for me to sew!

the shelf above my sewing machine with some treasured bits and bobs.

Miss Polly for Amelia

A cushion for Amelia

A dolls house cushion for Amelia.

I am obsessed with babushka dolls - these ones especially - I have used some of Amelia's special clothes to make them. I just love looking at them and the vintage buttons too! I am still perfecting the pattern on these.

a cushion for Matthew's first birthday

A dolls quilt for Amelia -work in progress

A little Moopy bunny for Samuel - he loves this and has taken to a calling him Peter! I was inspired to make this for him after seeing my clever friend lisa make this. She constantly motivates and inspires me - she is a natural!

Humble Beginnings

2009-04-03T15:39:00.000+11:00

Well, this is where it all started sort of - A special keepsake for my mum's 60th birthday. I choose the fabric carefully - a little bit of me and a whole lot of her. I hope this quilt stays in our family for a long time - I love it. Sometimes now I look at it and really can't believe I created it!

It took about 6 months to do and it's neally 3 years old now!

Well here I am..........

2009-04-03T15:23:00.000+11:00

Oh dear, can you believe it - I am finally in blog land - I have been wanting to do this for some time now - a place to keep all my creative stuff. I have admired so many blogs over the past 12 months and now I get to play here too. Hope you enjoy the ride just as much as me.