Month: September 2008

bags, craft, patterns, sewing

All those little beads took forever to sew on!

They have been sitting on my desk for a long time now, cut out, staring at me reproachfully, willing me to hurry up and put them together.  Lots of Puff purses!

Puff purses by you.

Sadly, my stylist must have been unavailable when these were photographed, since they’re all a little squashed.  I thought you may like a peek at the lining fabrics.

Puff purses - open by you.

They remind me a little of shells – maybe oysters?

Puff purses by you.

Kirsty has just completed a beautiful version of this purse as well.  The pattern is by Nikki.  I’m keeping the brown Japanese cotton one for myself.  Mum bought me some fantastic little self-adhesive leather thimbles to help with sewing on all those tiny little beads – my fingers were much happier once I started using them.

by thornberry
craft, crochet

Shells and waves – September 2008 CAL squares

It is almost the end of the month but I have just squeezed these squares out in time!  This month’s pattern is Shells and Waves.  I found it a little tricky at first, but persevered and the second square was completed much more quickly.

Shells and waves - fennel and lime by you.

And in the reverse colourway:

Shells and waves - lime and fennel by you.

Only three months to go with the CAL, then I’ll need to start assembling my afghan.

I managed to pick up some Anchor Magicline cotton on sale on the weekend to make Inga’s Haekelbeutel (a crocheted bag).  I’ve been keeping an eye out for sale yarn for this bag for a very long time!  Good things come to those who wait.

Anchor Magicline on sale! To become a bag by you.

There are 488 of these bags on Ravelry – it must be a popular pattern for a reason!  It will be a little while before I get onto starting it though – I’m currently working on a cardigan for Stella. 

by thornberry
craft, planned projects, sewing, Uncategorized

Dry hair

Like Hoppo Bumpo, I am a bit of a Nanna and do like to keep my hair dry in the shower with a cap.  I have been planning to make some of my own shower caps for months and months – when an old shower cap got a little too mildewed and worn out, I even kept it to use as a template to make my own.  But did I get off my butt and sew some up?  No – but then this excellent tutorial appeared and provided the incentive I needed.

Shower caps by you.

And now I have three!  The only changes I made to Hoppo Bumpo’s excellent instructions were to sew a casing out of bias binding on the inside of the cap and thread the elastic through the casing rather than sew the elastic directly on.  What fun!  These fit my small head really well.  I’d probably make them an inch or so larger in diameter for a bigger head.  Thanks so much Hoppo Bumpo!

Another talented crafter has just started blogging.  Lynda has a blog called Dear Molly, dedicated to her mother who succumbed to breast cancer four years ago.  Molly always encouraged and supported Lynda in her sewing, knitting, and crafting pursuits.  Head over and have a look at her beautiful work – baby knits and clothes, home furnishings, clothing – and all fitted in around three young children.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what else Lynda has to share with us.

Mum gave me these groovy little scissor keepers recently.

Groovy scissor keepers by you.

The scissor points just push into it, and then they can be hung around your neck so that there isn’t that issue of “where did I put those scissors” which is a common refrain in this house.  I have no idea where she bought it though, sorry – I suspect her favourite local quilting shop.

I am a little belated in mentioning that The Texas Mama recently gave me an award:

brillante2

Thank you so much; I am extremely flattered!  Texas Mama does terrific crafting with her little daughter Hali.  They have come through Hurricane Ike safely, thank goodness.

As always, I have many projects planned for the coming weeks (months?).  I really need some new clothes for work, so hope to sew a few dresses.  I’ve put on some weight lately, so will have to choose sizes carefully.  Some of the tops I made last summer are a little tight now, dammit.  I always lose weight when breastfeeding, but when I stop (Stella is still nursing, but only once or twice a day) it comes back on with a vengeance!  Maybe that is something to do with all the FOOD I consume.  So I figure some stretch fabrics may be a little more forgiving.  Dresses are great for work because they require less thought about coordination at 6.00am.

by thornberry
miscellaneous

History repeats

When I was a little girl I absolutely ADORED Barbie.  Eventually I had around seven Barbie dolls, along with various accessories.  Including this:

History repeats - barbie townhouse by you.

The Barbie Townhouse, circa early 1970s!  Clare is having a little holiday with here grandparents this week, and yesterday they set up the townhouse which had been packed away in a high cupboard (yes, I kept the original boxes – I was that sort of child).  Along with the Barbie Beach Bus, loads of furniture (which was generally for another doll called Sindy – anyone remember her?) and five of my old Barbie dolls.  I think that Mum is feeling a definitely sense of deja vu.

We are a house of illness at the moment – Miss Clare missed the last three days of school last week, and Miss Stella has been sick since Sunday.  I’m not too well either, but you know how it is when you’re the mother – you have no choice but to keep on going; without the captain the ship will sink!

IMG_5720 Stella by you.

Stella is suddenly becoming much more a toddler and less and less a baby – her babyhood seems to have passed me in a blink.  She now has molars, is continuing to climb onto whatever she can get up on, and has extended her reach so that items that were formerly safe on high benches are no longer so.  And her hair has thickened up – she has quite a baby mullet going on at the moment!

thornberry manga avatar by you.

You’ve probably seen these little manga avatars around the blogs at the moment.  This one is supposed to be me.  A far more attractive me, I reckon.  Any resemblance, do you think?  It was fun to put together, regardless.  You can do one yourself over at this website.

Nothing about craft in this post – hold on for the next one!

by thornberry
this is ...

This is … what I want to be when I grow up

Unlike some of the other bloggers who have already responded to this meme, when I was a child I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I didn’t even have much idea when I was doing year 12, but studied sciences “to keep my options open”.  When I started uni I still didn’t really know what I wanted to be.  In the end I have had some dramatic career changes; first I became a teacher, then I worked in the funeral industry, then I went back to uni again and now I work in health care.  Finally I know what I want to DO when I grow up in terms of my paid career – what I’m doing now – but that is a little different to what I want to BE!  I think that maybe they are different things …

When I grow up I want to be: healthy, resilient, wise, clever, empathetic, relaxed, witty, knowledgeable.

My brother has always known what he wanted to be when he grew up.  Although we grew up in country Victoria, since the age of four he has wanted to be a fisherman, and now he is a skipper of one of Australia’s top big game fishing boats.  He has had such drive and dedication towards his goal; even as a teenager he researched what he would need to do and contacted his fishing “idols” for advice.  I am very, very proud of my little brother and what he has achieved.  Yay Ross!

by thornberry
craft, crochet

Laali’s bun cover

Clare’s little school friend Laali has very long, thick, dark hair.  When her mother discovered that I crochet, she mentioned that Laali needed a bun cover for ballet.  A quick search of Ravelry for a pattern, a quick rummage through my yarn stash for some appropriate yarn (Cleckheaton Bamboo) and an hour of time later, it was done!

Laali's irish rose bun cover - top view by you.

You’d get a better idea of how it looks on a person than on a ball of yarn, but this was all I had available to photograph.

Laali's irish rose bun cover - side view by you.

We tried it on Laali at school the next morning and it’s perfect; it really complements her beautiful hair.  Very satisfying – marrying form and function!

by thornberry
miscellaneous

I picked the winner!

Of Project Runway Australia, that is. I’ve just finished watching the grand finale on YouTube – we don’t have cable, so I’m a couple of days late. Now if that doesn’t get me inspired to sew some clothes, I don’t know what will! Had you noticed that the crafting has slowed down a little here lately? Watching telly instead of sewing, that’s been my problem! Now that Project Runway is finished, I’ve got another “free” hour each week. Then again, I’ve also been reading instead of sewing/crafting – we read John Marsden’s “Tomorrow, when the war began” for my book group last month, and since then I’ve been reading the rest of the series.  Absolutely addictive!  It really cuts into my crafting/sewing time.  And my ironing time – the ironing pile is officially huge!

A couple of people asked me what the little curved purses were in the background of some of my recent photos – they’re Puff purses, just waiting for their frames. I’ve got another two cut out ready to sew as well. And three shower caps, following Hoppo Bumpo’s excellent tutorial. And a skirt for Clare. And a bag for Clare for Christmas. Surely there are other UFO’s lurking upstairs in the pile.

Well, that’s enough from me! See what drivel I can type when I’ve had a glass and a half of red after a long day at work. Kids are asleep, Project Runway was most satisfying, so time to go and chat to hubby.

Goodnight everyone!

by thornberry
craft, patterns, sewing

Brown floral hat

I’ve been pattern testing again!  Thanks to Nikki, I now have a new summer hat.

Brown floral hat - outer by you.

The fabric is from Joel Dewberry’s Ginseng line, and is decorator weight.  There are three layers of interfacing in the brim, and the brim is topstitched as well to help it keep its shape.  I hand-stitched the binding into place – I’ve learned my lesson about attaching binding; I’m never happy with the finished result unless it’s been hand-stitched into place, even though it does take much longer.  The lining is also hand-stitched in place.

Brown floral hat - inside lining by you.

I really, REALLY love this hat pattern! I wear hats all the time in summer, trying to protect my lily-white skin (yes, I am very pale – my legs are so white that the glare is almost blinding).  I’ve made cloth hats before, but as usual Nikki has that something extra in both the drafting of her patterns and the instructions and tips that go with them.  This is definitely the most successful hat I’ve made.  It fits perfectly!

Brown floral hat by you.

See, check out that grin!  Nikki is having a give-away for the pattern over here.  I expect that the pattern will be released any day now.  There are many more hats in my horizon – maybe a whole collection with varying brim widths?

by thornberry
craft, sewing, this is ...

This is … what I do with a spare 10 minutes

Coincidentally, my previous post was also about what I managed to achieve in a spare ten minutes!  But really, if I do have a “spare” ten minutes, I am probably doing pretty much the same thing as Nikki has described: reading bloglines, trawling Amazon craft books, or drooling over fabric from online fabric stores. 

Actually, it is difficult to define what a “spare” ten minutes would be!  I never get everything done that I have to do or want to do, so in some ways no time is spare.  But ten minutes that I have a modicum of control over?  Well, I managed to finished these little zippered pouches in ten-minute bursts over a two week period.

Zippered pouches by you.

Ten minutes if I’m out somewhere?  I pull out the crochet – I rarely travel without it – and hook a row or two!  Although I am trying to use the odd spare ten minutes to chill out a bit – just have a drink and stare into space a little.  I’m not very good at chilling out.

Thanks again to Hoppo Bumpo for a great theme (her post on what she’d do with her spare ten minutes really resonated with me!), and to Handmaiden for guest hosting and Three Buttons for coming up with the whole meme!

by thornberry
books, craft, embroidery, op-shopping, sewing

Sometimes ten minutes is all you need

On Tuesday I travelled far from home to see my naturopath in Chelsea.  I had ten minutes to spare before my appointment, so popped in to a little op shop to have a quick peek.  And I was lucky!

Chelsea op shop haul by you.

The old issues of Australian Stitches should be fun to read, and the old KnitWit pattern which looks truly appalling on the front has some terrific classic designs when you check out the line drawing on the back.  The best find was the embroidery book.

Embroidery pattern - blue floral by you.

This book was first published in the 70s by Marshall Cavendish (yes, the very same publishers as the Golden Hands series) and was reprinted every year to the late 80s.

Embroidery pattern - cushions by you.

I love the colour combinations used throughout, and the designs are adapable to cross-stitch, needlepoint or crewel embroidery.

Embroidery patterns by you.

Who knows if I will ever actually make anything from it, but it’s nice to dream and be inspired!  Maybe one day.

by thornberry
View More