Matching Pegs

Michaela’s kinder asked for a family photo, and we didn’t have a recent one, so on Saturday, when Luke’s sister was over (to point and shoot), we posed for a quick shot.  We are in various styles of dress, as Luke and I were preparing to go out.  Rory is still in his painting  gear as we had spent the afternoon painting the Lotta ladder together.  As you can see, Lotta takes our family to 6.

Today I visited a very dear friend, Rebecca.  We have know each other since we were 15, and I met her when she started going out with the boy that went on to become her husband.

Rebecca always used to declare that she was going to marry Ian and have 6 kids.  On Friday her dream became a reality, as Ian and Rebecca welcomed baby number 6 into the world.  Today I got to meet that 3 day old baby and have a cuddle.  Here is the beautiful boy, Kobi.

Rebecca and Ian are amazingly involved parents, and this little man is lucky to have been born into such a loving happy family.

Here is the little something that I took when I visited (along with some flowers for the very amazing Mum)….

There will definitely be more crafting in the near future for this little boy.  Watch this space.  In the meantime, have a look at how tiny Kobi is in my arms, and don’t we both look great in green.

Bendigo Post Office

On Saturday Amelia, Mum, our friend Eryn and I took  a day trip to Bendigo to see “The Golden Age of Couture: Paris & London 1947-57″ at the Bendigo Art Gallery.  It was Fabulous.  Because it was the last weekend, it was also packed with people.  Luckily Mum had the foresight to book tickets online, so we avoided the 2 hour queue.

Sadly there were no programs left to be purchased, and there was definitely no photography allowed, but here is a photo that was on the Art Gallery website until yesterday (I guess they took it down because the exhibit is finished).  I grabbed this image off the link I had posted yesterday on my Facebook profile – I don’t usually use images that I have not taken myself, but I am bending my own rules for this beauty, one of my favourites in the exhibition.

The collection was put together by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  The Bendigo Art Gallery did very well to get permission to host it exclusively here.

In the afternoon we stopped by the Sacred Heart Cathedral.  This magnificent Cathedral is where my Grandparents were married, can you imagine walking down the aisle in such a large venue?

Overall we had a lovely girly day, and it was well worth the day trip.

Here is a little photo which sums up my Sunday, which in comparison was pretty quiet.  Inspired by Rachel, I made a lovely Buttercup bag.  The Buttercup bag is a free pattern from “Made By Rae”, cleverly designed to use 2 fat quarters.

It is a pretty small bag for me, but perfect for the walk up to collect the kids from school – I only really need to take my keys, wallet and phone.  Oh, and the green coat was a new purchase from yesterday, (a super-bargain).  The coat is also perfect for the walk to school, now that it is starting to get a little cooler – autumn is on the way.

Here is a better look at the bag on its own.  For those considering making this bag, I made a couple of minor changes to the construction.  I added a layer of pellon inside the bag to pad it slightly (I ironed the pellon to the lining) and I added the handles (which also contained a layer of pellon) before joining the lining and outside together, so that the handles are sandwiched between the layers.

One of the strengths of this design (IMHO) is that the proportions are balanced so well.  I may make it again, at a larger scale, which would of course require more than fat quarters, but hold more of the stuff I usually lug around.

Why don’t you make one?

There  was one problem that we did not anticipate when we got Lotta, our little puppy.

Her tiny little legs are too short to make it down the stairs.  She has learnt how to run up the stairs, but to go down she would have to leap from one tread to the next, and they are not wide enough to catch her.  We have been carrying her down the stairs to the grass, but it has been driving me crazy, because she runs up again, following someone, and gets “stuck”.

I spent today fixing the problem.

I call it the Lotta Ladder.  Now she can make it down the stairs all on her own.

I am really proud because I made it myself, in a day, by hand, (no power tools) and trained Lotta to use it (treats on every second rung helped).  Lotta problem solved!

Today I whipped up another little Bunny.  This little golden rabbit is for a new baby, who was born back in December.  As her family was moving house, I held off on sending a present – one more thing to pack.  Now they are settled and so here she is.

While I was at it I thought I would take a few shots to share a craft hack.

This is how I turn the bunny pieces right side out.  For this trick I use a small paintbrush, and the empty barrel of a “Twistable” crayon.  I’ll show you how it is done with a tiny ear of the bunny.

When I am sewing up my little softies, I always make the stitch length on my machine a little smaller, and I start sewing a little way away from the turning gap.  I sew back towards the gap and then away again, which means there are no thread tails at the turning gap to loosen as the piece is turned.  Before turning I also clip all the curves and cut off the points.

So firstly I place the empty barrel inside one of the pieces.

Taking the pointy wooden end of the small paintbrush in the other hand, I push the pointy end of the fabric ear into the empty barrel as far as I can.

Next I take the ear off the barrel.  Now that it is started, it is really easy to turn with the paintbrush.  I run the paintbrush around the seams of the entire ear and it is done.

Here ends the craft hack!

There is a little more to go with this bunny, a very small quilt to cover it up, but it is still a WIP.

I am not sure about it.  Now, in this photo, it is looking a little “towelish”.  I will give it a fresh look in the morning, perhaps it will have lost that towel look.  Stay tuned.

*Not  Turning Tricks

A couple of days ago I started a new sketchbook, having  just filled the last one.  I think I was revisiting my school days to decorate the first page like this – I did this sort of thing all the time.  I decorated my compulsory school homework diary, so that each week had a different visual theme.  Oh the hours I spent with the derwents and my diaries.  I think I even have them somewhere.

Here is a page from the last sketchbook, featuring some flowers we shall call “pincushion flowers”.

Keeping a sketchbook or visual diary was a discipline of my University days – a required part of the life drawing component of the design degree.  It is a great idea, your drawing certainly improves with practice.  These days my sketch book is filled with little idea drawings and little creatures, rather than life drawings.  I don’t get to sketch daily (perhaps I should) but I often sit down for 15 minutes of drawing time with the kids, sometimes more if I am lucky.

The first couple of little people in my new sketchbook are inspired by The Duchess which we watched the other night – the hair, oh the hair!

They don’t look at all like the actors – but I wasn’t really trying, just enjoying putting pencil to paper.  I enjoy drawing for me, not striving to recreate life as accurately as possible.

Do you have a sketchbook?  What do you draw?  How often?

Any other Melbournites feel a tremor just before 9pm?

The bookcases were rattling and the kids were calling out – “our beds are shaking”.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the Volcano errupting in Indonesia, that I found when I went to breaking news on The ABC Breaking News website.

Updated to add

You can see details at the US Geological Survey Home page

Earthquake Details

I have actually started and completed 2 small projects this week.

We seem to be in the middle of a baby boom amongst friends and colleagues at the moment.  These two tees are small presents for two new babies (from two families, not twins).  Both feature the envelope necks that are so handy when dressing a tiny babe.  I just added circles of favourite fabrics using the basic needle turn method.  In fact those circles are just traced from the bottom of our drinking glasses.  The froggy fabric is from Purl Patchwork in NYC from my visit in 2007.  As it is actually Japanese fabric, and the top is made in China, it is really an international piece of couture!   The blossom fabric on the right is fabric inspired by Japanese design, but it is actually from the extremely exotic Spotlight store (he he he).

The last few days have been full of rain.  Mostly light rain, but blessed rain none the less.  A few days back there was a window of opportunity to prewash some of my hand dyed fabric, (purchased that way – not dyed by me).  I must admit that I don’t prewash my fabric unless it is going to be put through a lot of washing, (say in an apron) or I am really concerned about the colour (say a dark red used next to a white).  This dyed fabric did not loose much colour when it was washed, only the darkest few lost a little, which was good.

If you are wondering what you are actually looking at, it is not a line full of scraps of fabric blowing in the breeze, but a sunset.  Oh, and the sun.  Can you see it?

Do you prewash?

Meet a Love Chicken.  This cute and cleverly made little birdie was presented to me at a blog dinner, held to celebrate Tracey’s visit to Melbourne.  Tracey gave everyone that attended one of these little cuties, to thank them for coming – no need to thank me Tracey, it was definitely my pleasure.

Tracey was down from Queensland with her hubby Pete to check out the Australasian Quilt Convention, among other things.  I found her in the crush of people when I went for the day with Debbie, my sewing cohort.

In theory, Debbie and I were going to talk each other out of spending too much money on fabric – good theory.  Actually I didn’t spend anything until I came across the $3.50 fat quarters, and then it was all on for young and old.

These beauties are almost all from the Sonnet Collection by April Cornell for Moda.  They are joining the queue to become a quilt – in this case a fat quarter quilt, a la Material Obsession.  You just square up the fat quarters and add sashing, and you get one simple quilt, great for showing off large prints.

These three fat quarters were just a little pricier at $5, but I think you will agree they were so worth it!  They are eventually going to be made up as a  fat quarter bag (by Melly and Me).  The two main fabric probably need no introduction – Amy Butler fabric of course.  The lovely orange hounds tooth is from the Summer in the City range by Urban Chicks for Moda, and they will be handles.

I have decided to use a button for a closure – even though it doesn’t usually need one, just because I found this little beauty.  It is a button made out of resin with kimono fabric inside it, from B B Beads.

I took lots of photos of Quilts but was too silly to record all the details, so it is probably not fair to post the photos – my photography was not that good anyway, as the Convention was pretty crowded, so I could not take  my time with the snapping.

Tracey must have brought the rain down from Queensland, we finally had some rain last night, and some more today.  Not as much as we need, but a welcome relief after 2 months with almost no rain (just the occasional droplet).

Oh, and by the way Tracey, here is where the little love chicken has taken up residence – on Michaela’s door handle, she is very taken with it.