Month: March 2009

books, children's clothing, crochet

Lacy shell poncho and hat

As much as I love working on the Wool Eater Blanket, on Sunday night I felt the need for a “quick-fix” crochet project.  Clare has been asking for a poncho for a little while.  So I made her a Lacy Shell Poncho and a matching hat.

Lacy Shell Poncho and Hat by you.

The yarn is Patons Soft Haze, an acrylic/wool/bamboo blend that I picked up at Spotty for around $2 per ball a little while ago knowing that Clare would love the soft pink colour.  It worked up extremely quickly with a 6.5mm hook – around 3 hours all up.  And what does Clare think?  Will she curse me in years to come for crocheting a poncho?

Lacy Shell Poncho and Hat by you.

Nah, I think she looks pretty happy with herself!

Another person who should be feeling very happy with herself at the moment is Pip – her new book was launched yesterday, and it’s full of craft patterns and projects by Australian designers.

Material Obsession & Meet Me At Mike's by you.

The book is beautifully presented and written in such an accessible style.  Congratulations to all the contributors and to Pip for a terrific book!  Another Australian book that has just made its way into my house is Material Obsession, a beautiful quilting book.  So far I’ve only had the chance to glance through it, but I already want to have a go at making quite a few of the quilts within the pages.

And speaking of quilts and talented quilt designers, Kellie from Don’t Look Now! is having a giveaway to win her latest applique cushion pattern.  Kellie’s work is truly breathtaking – her use of colour and detail is just so, so gorgeous!  Pop over and enter – and maybe pre-order the pattern while you’re there!

by thornberry
craft, miscellaneous, sewing

Made’n’Thornbury

Clare and I went to a delightful little community market on Saturday, the Made’n’Thornbury market.  There are photos over here and here and here.  There was a lovely community atmosphere, face painting and a craft table for the kids was provided free of charge, and the stall holders showed off their creativity with original, crafty wares.  A few bits and pieces came home with me:

Made'n'Thornbury market buys by you.

A Luckie (collage kit) from Tinniegirl, a flower brooch kit from CurlyPops (Clare began assembling it this afternoon) and a beautiful bowl from Finki.  I met some people whose blogs I read, my bag was recognised by another clever blogger/crafter (and therefore my identity was revealed!), and I even ran in to Nikki, Leah and Ann-Marie.  I think it’s time to organise a Melbourne Northern Suburbs (and further afield, if interested) blogmeet.  Any takers?

by thornberry
fabric stash, Sunday Stash

Sunday Stash #18

If all goes according to plan these fabrics won’t be in the stash for too much longer!  These are the fabrics I’ve chosen to sash, back and bind the Mod Sampler Quilt I’m planning on making.

Mod sampler quilt backing fabrics by you.

Off-white for sashing, black and white stripe for binding, and the other two fabrics will be pieced together for the back.  I’ve got a mix of red, black, white and off-white in my fabrics for the front of the quilt, so here’s hoping that the white/off-white will be okay together when it’s all constructed.  These fabrics all came from Amitie.  Thanks again Tamara for hosting Sunday Stash.

If you’d like to increase or vary your stash a little, Sheridan is running a Vintage Sheet Swap.  Remember the very successful one run last year by Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson!?  This one is especially good for Aussies (although it is open to everyone everywhere) because it is Australian based and postage won’t be prohibitive.  So pop on over and sign up!

by thornberry
craft, embroidery, sewing

Girls night out cushion

Do you remember the big granny?  And the owl and name embroidery I eventually completed at Brown Owls last year?  They’ve been combined together into a cushion, with a little help from an op-shop tablecloth.

Girls Night Out Cushion - side 2 by you.

And the other side:

Girls Night Out cushion - side 1 by you.

I don’t know which side I like best!  And why “Girls night out”?  Because that it when the components were crafted – the crochet at a friend’s house one evening, the embroidery at Brown Owls.

by thornberry
crochet, wool-eater blanket

Has this become a crochet blog?

There appear to be more posts about crochet on this blog lately than anything else.  Whatever happened to the bags, the embroidery, the clothes?  Especially the clothes – I really need some new dresses for work!  But the call of the hook is strong.  Here are the flower motifs I made from my March hip to hook parcel.

Flower motif - Hip to Hook March 09 by you.

I made six of these little beauties, and wrapped them in a vintage embroidered cloth for a friend’s 40th birthday gift.  I’m not quite certain what they will become (coasters?  embellishments?  framed as a picture?  part of something else? scarf endings? did she mention pasties?) but I hope that she liked them – I think she did!

I have also made a little progress on the Wool Eater Blanket.  Seven colours done, another three colours still to add.

Edited to add: The above link to the Wool Eater Blanket pattern is no longer available.  The pattern came from Sarah London, who can be contacted through her blog here.  I have also noticed that it looks a lot like what is called Bavarian Crochet.

Wool Eater Blanket progress - 7 colours by you.

I sat in a cosy pub crocheting away happily with other Brown Owls on Monday night, a drink of brandy and dry in front of me after finishing my dinner of pate.  Pip observed that I was being very retro… 

But there is a mistake in my blanket!  The light in the pub was pretty dim and I was clearly distracted by the conversation and maybe the brandy.  Can you spot the error?  I’m too many rows further along to pull it out and correct it now.  I may pretend that it is a deliberate mistake, in the same way as Amish Quilters were thought to purposely include a mistake in their quilts. 

by thornberry
Chaletgirl's block swap, patchwork, quilting

Block swap part one

When I signed up to Sheridan’s Block Swap I thought it would be fun, but I didn’t realise just how much fun – or how challenging!  My first lot of fabrics arrived in the mail on Monday – and I’ve already sewn up my first eight blocks.  We are sewing 9-patch blocks using someone else’s feature fabric and matching it to fabric from our own stashes.  Eventually all the blocks containing my own feature fabric will be returned to me to be assembled into a quilt.

I had three feature fabrics to work with, and came up with these blocks.  Firstly, for Bronwyn:

Lara vs Bronwyn (whippet good) by you.

Next, for Beth:

Lara vs Beth (scotlandchips) by you.

and the last two are for Susie.

Lara vs Susie (yarnplanner) by you.

As Sheridan had told us, it only took about six minutes to sew up each block – but she failed to mention the hours it took me to decide which fabrics to match up with each one!

by thornberry
craft, crochet

Hip to Hook – and some musings on craft

I signed up to Sarah London’s Hip to Hook crochet circle a few weeks ago – it’s hard for me to resist anything crochet!  Shortly after a parcel arrived:

Hip to Hook - March 09 by you.

two shades/types of yarn, and crochet instructions, a pattern for a flower motif and a stitch pattern.  I’ll show you soon what I made!  It was fun to take my crochet out of my usual comfort zone, and have someone else introduce me to other yarn choices and stitches.  I was very happy with my little parcel!  Which lets me segue nicely into my next topic.

There was an article in The Age on Sunday that seems to have stirred up some consternation!  There are a few comments on it here and here and here.  It’s also something I’ve been thinking about and discussing with friends quite a lot lately.

When I read the article, I didn’t read anything negative into it!  Conversely, I saw loads of positives, talking about how more and more people are learning crafts.  I was also excited the lovely Pip was on the cover and quoted in the article – since she is definitely an advocate of all things positive about crafting, like community, giving something new a go, sharing skills, and encouraging others.

I do think that the discussion has raised some salient points.  To me though, I craft for my sanity.  Some people craft as a business – that’s not my scene.  I’m not interested in selling my craft.  But if I was, I’d want to make sure that my technical skills were up to scratch and that my workmanship was good.  I love to craft.  I love the process of choosing fabrics or yarns, deciding on the pattern, and putting everything together.  I’m not original, and have never claimed to be – I don’t even consider myself particularly creative.  But I love making stuff, and my skills are improving all the time.  Other people inspire me and educate me.  I enjoy what I do, and I’ve really enjoyed connecting with craftspeople – which wouldn’t have happened as easily without the internet and craft blogs.

After all, for every craft blogger there could be another ten (or fifty or one hundred) people out there happilly crafting away, producing exquisite embroidery, comfy crochet, original knitting, superb basketweaving, perfectly fitted clothing, superb bags, even fantastic macrame, all quietly at home (and who may or may not be selling what they make).  But not getting involved in an online community.  Crafting isn’t a new thing!  I don’t believe you have to be professionally trained to be a good crafter, but I don’t believe that you can be a good crafter without practice and enthusiasm.  That’s why it’s great for people to share their learning process through their blogs, and receive encouragement and guidance.

But that’s just my opinion!  I reckon that everyone has to start somewhere, some learn extremely quickly, and good on anyone who has a go.  No divisions in the craft community necessary – but if you’re selling stuff, please make sure it’s good quality!

by thornberry
fabric stash, patchwork, planned projects, quilting, Sunday Stash

Sunday Stash #17

Like many others, I am participating in the Mod Sampler Quiltalong over at Oh, Fransson! So this week’s Sunday Stash fabrics are the ones I’ve chosen for the front of my quilt.

Fabrics for Oh, Fransson!'s Quiltalong by you.

Not the colours I normally work with – so it will be a challenge and a pleasant change!  The fat quarters along the top all came from GJ’s Discount Fabrics; the half yards along the bottom are all from Robert Kaufman’s You’ve got the notions line (mine came from Z & S fabrics).  I had a little trip to Amitie last Friday to purchase sashing, backing and binding fabrics to go with them – maybe they’ll be next week’s Sunday Stash!  Thanks Tamara for hosting.

by thornberry
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