A 'Stitch-in-Time'

You use this proverb to say that it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. It is often shortened to "A stitch in time." This proverb expresses a similar idea to that of "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

But, that is not what I am posting about, if anything, it is the opposite! I had seen an example of this photo the other day, and thought, "I'd like to try that one day..."! Well, that day came about, last night! I threw caution to the wind, and in a split second decision, I set it up, fired off four frames, and this was the result!

Needle & Thread

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 89 Toy

There was no denying it, L loved her crafty toys... All manner of toys were sought after from local 'crafters to international crafters, there was at times, no stopping her!

Here are some samples of the crafty toys we collected along the way...

Grok

3 eyed fish

Needs a name

Neville

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 37 Button

buttons and buckle

'L' use to LOVE collecting buttons, primarily antique or unusual ones as can be seen in the pic above. They are all in the study room still, perhaps I could put them on eBay or something, who knows... For now though, they can stay!

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Today at work, was difficult... We are installing some equipment on our fuel systems (underground tanks and pumps on-site) that has the ability to run reports to user groups, types of fuel and even, CO2 emissions if needs be! The later will be important in many ways, but I like the idea of a single system that can report against many things... BUT, and I say this with a headache after a long day, it will only work IF the server talks to the computer when the computer can talk to the tank recoder that can talk to the server... It has taken a while to get it all going, and it will go live (hopefully) on Thursday, so fingers crossed, everyone will talk to everyone!

Hoo roo for now...

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Crafty Tree!!

Well, it has been a tough couple of weeks lately, mainly as I have had a pinched nerve in my right arm, which has been extremely painful... But, after treatment late last week (x-ray, physio and acupuncture) and a nerve conduction study today, next week if symptoms persist. Physio will continue tomorrow, so we will see how it all goes!

Anyways, I wanted to post this last week, but was unable to type, so here it is now... Years ago, when L started to follow crafty blogs, she got to know and purchase some items. One of her first purchases was from Kristen. Well, recently she (Kristen) was featured in the Sydney Magazine. I found this out after tweeting about my passionfruit vine and I delivered some to her. Over coffee and a chat, she talked about the photo shoot. The article was great, and as it turned out, part of a feature showcasing three crafty bloggers... L was following ALL three of them (but I have only scanned Kristen's page)!!

Sydney Magazine 29072010

If you want to read the FULL sized scanned article, read here!

And so we get to this morning, after a WONDERFUL nights sleep, which was relatively pain free, I came out to get ready for breakfast, coffee blah blah blah, and when I looked out to see Macc, this is what I saw!

Golden Cypress

Now the old 'Hills Hoists' are just about indestructible... That is, until they meet a Golden Cypress that is!

Hills Hoist

So I am now calling tree loppers, Council for approval to remove the remaining tree (leaning at around 10-15 degrees)... Oh, I have also moved my NC Study, and physio so as i can be home to get these done!

Cypress Down to house

Hoo roo for now...

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Softies...

These last few months have been somewhat, "crafty research" shall we say, and what's more, I am off to Canberra tomorrow bright and early in the aide of more ... research!
You see, it is the Canberra's Handmade Market, so we are making the 300klm trip to go and see if it is any good. I sure hope so!
Below is a little bit of what I have bought, what I have read or reading and what I have to make.
Of the books, the "Little Cat and the Big Red Bus" has some great illustrations, and both of the "Softies" books offer some real inspiration.
With a quilt to make and two dolls to do as well, I suspect that I am going to be more than a little busy, lets hope that I do not find to much tomorrow!

Softies

1. Needs a name, 2. Softie School Photo, 3. Grok, 4. Neville, 5. Little Stiches, 6. Books, 7. Stiched Book double spread, 8. Little cat & the big red bus, 9. Cat, 10. Cat on bus, 11. Red Bus Home, 12. Cat & Dog, 13. Doll kits, 14. 3 eyed fish, 15. Red Bus, 16. Quilt.

Oh what a ... day!

On Monday, we had an interesting morning...

We had to get to the clinic early on Monday for another transfer. This was to be our4th transfer since collecting the follicles a short time ago... So we left early as we had to drive in the morning peak. Trouble was, somebody forgot to tell the rest of the city, that they should also be driving and we got to our destination an HOUR early!

So, nearby, there is a hotel with a coffee shop attached so we parked the car and went there. I was no sooner inside, and thought I recognised some girls sitting there having their breakfast. And it wasn't long before I realised who they were... They were the girls from 'Make me a Supermodel' and here they were, stuffing their faces, being demanding for coffee in a take away cup and generally being a right royal "prima-donnas"!

Then it was time to go to the clinic for the transfer, which went as expected and I will not bore you with the details, and we headed home for a rest. There were a few 'sharp pains' in the lower abdo, and all, but all was going well. We then had to drive into the City, as L had to have an appoint to go to followed by a follow-up/debrief from the Pilot Program that the IVF Clinic had done. This was a weight loss program, that re-educated you on how your body works with food. Eating every three hours, a strict calorie total for the day and a 45 min walk at least 3 times a week. The program leader was sending tips on things to do as well through the 6 week program. All up, L had lost nearly 7kg, drop three sizes in her jeans and is enjoying her walks! All we have to do is get a positive that sticks!

That's all for now, but will keep you updated as we go... We are going to the Canberra Craft Markets this weekend, so lots of crafty goodness will be there!

remember me...

it has been too long for me to remember how long since I last posted. This is beginning to sound like confession, for which it has been even longer since I last attended. Goodness, where is this going.....
Let's start again. Look what came in the post last week. A Bride & Wolfe nesting bird from my most favourite shop in Melbourne, Douglas & Hope. Last year I did quite a few trips to Melbourne, this year I haven't had one, and with a gift voucher to spend it was a relief to come across this birdie and her eggs on the Douglas & Hope blog and that they do mail order. I love this birdie, she can be sitting on a nest or on a branch if you turn the bottom bit over. she can be all white or brown, or a combination. I love clever design.

Bride & Wolfe
In my break from the blog I have dug out some of those unfinished projects, including a Noah's Ark tapestry. It is an Ehrman pattern from 1989, I haven't been working on it for that long though. My Dad found it a couple of years ago in a vintage store, with some of the bottom section done, and knowing how much I like Noah's Ark and stitching bought it for me. It is very much a winter project though, the wool gets very warm in your hands when the weather starts to heat up. I did the last stitches today. Bring on summer.

Finished
The next project, aimed to be completed this week is a quilt I started a few years back. It is the first quilt I ever made, started whilst I was at home recouping from having my gall bladder removed. I didn't know what I was doing but I was bored, had a collection of fabrics I liked and didn't know what to do with, and there you have a quilt without binding. I recently discovered this unfinished project in a cupboard, and on a trip out with mum found some pink silky fabric I would like to attempt to use for the binding.

Underway
Then for something new, I will be embellishing this picture on linen that I purchased from the Stitches and Craft Show this year.

Next

And something else new. Well new to us...

New Car

All sorts, but not licorice...

Ok, so this is a bit of a long term catchup on things... A bit of craft (a lot actually), a bit of house work and a birthday wish thrown in for good measure!

First, a couple of weeks ago, L and the MIL went to the Quilting and craft show at Darling Harbour. They had such a great time and here are their goodies:

Crafty Goodies

And this 'little' piece of Japanese Linen, was a hefty $5 for 15cm!

Japanese Linen Trim

Owl close up

Then, it was a piece that had been 'sitting around' for a couple of years. L got it when we were in the UK. Wye, in Nth England near Furness Vale and Stockport.

Wye Fish Tapestery

It sat for a while, before going off to an upholsterer to make into the cushion it is today.
Now, apart from L having eBay as her FAVOURITE store (it is even in her phone for some reason), her next major website is etsy where she purchased this fish after a tip off from meet me at mikes. The crafty goddess that made it must have gotten her inspiration from Sydney Water I think given it has three eyes!!

3 Eyed Fish

3 Eyed fish!

We have been really busy of late, between all of this, and repairing some cracks in the bedroom. That is now complete and painted and is looking really good. It is only the fiddly bits of painting the windows and a door and paint the ceiling (more on that in another post...)

Today, we had a busy day between doing a meat market research (a take home pack to cook and assess; tonight was Pork Belly!), and going over to Pa's birthday afternoon tea. I thought he was 94, L thinks 95 but the MIL (eldest daughter) thinks he is 93! So happy 90 something Pa!

Happy 90 something B'day Pa

After getting home, putting dinner on going to the bedroom to look at the painting to do, and thought I will not do anymore tonight, and that it time for a cuppa:

Cuppa Eye

Here's looking at you...

Handmade Market Day... brrrrrr

Last Saturday, we were to have a very FULL day... L was going to be going to a work colleagues organic make up party in the afternoon, whilst I was to finish the repairs and paint our bedroom. You see, we live in a house that was built in 1928, and with the current drought, there are a couple of cracks. Most of them are not getting any worse, but one of the wall vents in our bedroom, was just about to fall off! I had repaired it the week prior, and stuck it back on, leaving only the sanding back and painting of the room to be done.

BUT, as she always does, L found an excuse to do more things in an already FULL day... Cheeky Beaks was having a Handmade Market in the morning over at Caringbah, about a 40 minute drive from our house, and it was decided upon that we will go further on to Cronulla for breakfast afterwards... Yes more to do... We left home (16 degrees) at around 7:30am and by the time we got over to Caringbah, it was 11 degrees!!!!

Craft Stall Day

There were lots of great things at the various stalls there, and we did grab a couple of hand made bargains whilst we were there... I will get a couple of photos this afternoon when I get home to share for a late WW!

We then left for Cronulla for breakfast, and the cold that L had gotten through the week had taken a turn for the worse (it had turned before we even left home, but it was NOT going to get in the way of going to the Handmade Market!!!), so after breakfast we headed for home, and a call was put in for the party organiser that she will not be coming and sent late apologies...

When we did get home, she snuggled up in her jammies, in front of the heater in the lounge room and fell asleep into a dozy state whilst I got stuck into the bedroom. Occasionally, I would get a "what are you up to" from her... By late evening, she was back to (almost) herself, and we gave the room a second coat!!! Sunday saw the room finished, first coat of the woodwork (where me being the 'boofhead' that I am, went and asked for a 4l tin of Aquanamel but got a 4l tin of OIL BASED ENAMEL of the colour for the woodwork... So it took a lot longer to dry, smelt really bad and left us with the windows and door to the balcony open in the middle of winter for hours!!! So this coming weekend, a final coat will go onto all of the woodwork, and I will get some more shots of it as well...

WW #26: - My ETSY purchase, Isaac

A few words...

This is my latest purchase from Etsy, and his name is Isaac. He is handmade, continuing on my handmade theme for this year... Thanks morninglori

Isaac

wordless wednesday

hi, its me

the other half of this blog.

The countdown is now on, for our trip across the pond to NZ, and I am so excited that I finally have my very own copy of 'the Crafter's Compainion' resultant from our trip to Borders last night (and that we shall soon be on holiday). I am a little torn, as I bought a book a couple of weeks ago for the trip, but I have been waiting to get a copy of the Crafter's Companion for soooo long, and a sneak peak on the way home in the car, had me hooked. I couldn't possibly wait two weeks to read on. The solution is that I will probably pack both books.

Crafters Companion

Now the search is on for Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol which was not on the register at Borders at all. I could get it from Amazon, but I would prefer an Australian supplier. I have just found Fishpond which looks suspiciously like Amazon but appears to be Australian so maybe that is the answer, if I had found this one sooner I could have ordered it with the Crafter's Companion, for free shipping and saved on the price I paid at Borders. Oh well, the irony is that today the emailed coupon from Borders was 35% off the full price of any book, but I don't care, I wasn't going to risk leaving it till such a coupon came along, even if it was the next day.

meet me at mikes

Meet Me at Mikes goodness

oh the packaged goodness, or is it the goodness packaged. A bit of both really, last week I was in Melbourne but managed one hour to tram it to 'Meet me at Mikes' on Bridge Rd and back again to Flinders St where I was staying. I came across the Meet me at Mikes blog a little while ago and decided I needed to make it there if I could next time I was in town. Such a cute shop, plastered with Golden Book covers and filled with vintage stuff and crafty goodness. So good, I managed to get two pieces of Shannon Lamden (Aunty Cookie) Home Sweet Home in Black Fabric. I bought some of this fabric in Olive some time back from her etsy store and love it so much I have not brought myself to cut into it yet. So this was a very exciting find. So that was the goodness packaged.

The packaged goodness; the bag with a page from a Noddy book attached, the receipt for the envelope (how posh) made from the page of a vintage book, and the fabric wrapped in crunchy cellophane with a suprise tag again made from the page of a childrens book, being all too cute.

thursday thirteen #8... where is the craft?

Thirteen of my favourite craft shops
In collating my favourite craft shops I have quite a few states (Australian that is) covered; New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia. The challenge now is to extend the list to cover South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. I know there are a couple of good ones in South Australia, but it is quite a few years since I last visited there.

When we were in New Zealand last year, and happened to be in Borders Bookshop we came across a book that was basically a travellers guide to craft shops in New Zealand. Maybe this could be the start of a travellers guide to craft shops in Australia.....

1. Prints Charming, colourful fresh fabrics like nothing you will have seen before. I've mentioned it before here, these gals are great. And they're in Sydney. They also do a silkscreening workshop, and you get to use their screens, paints and studio. Check back in after the weekend and I should have some pics of my efforts from last weekend.


2. Patchwork on Central Park, a must when visiting Melbourne just a short tram ride from the CBD. They inspired my love of fabric.


3. Material Obsession, Sydney, they have great fabrics and innovative kits, and one of the best websites, including a blog.


4. Ballarat Patchwork, located in historic Ballarat, their store is a little gem. The first quilt kit I completed was purchased from their store. It was a clever combination of ginghams, ticking, spots and floral fabric.
   
5. Amitie, a short train ride from the Melbourne CBD, their store can be a little overwhelming with the range of fabric, and is it cheating to make mention of Broderie, which stocks traditional and contemporary embroidery; they share the same roof.


6. Calico n Ivy, I have never been to their physical store although if I ever get to Western Australia I am there. I have however been to their online store many times. I am going to make this and this one day.


7. Sarah London, where do they get their vintage chenille? So many great patterns and colours, their quilts and stuffed toy kits can be purchased via their blog shop.


8. Stitches and Spice, sometimes stitching on linen can get really boring, these hand dyed linens are just the thing to make cross-stitches a little more individual. Some of the colours are really amazing and change the look and feel of your cross-stitch completely.


9. Fred the Needle, carries a comprehensive range of Amy Butler fabrics and patterns, plus others.


10. Berrima Patchwork, is located in such an interesting little town, making it a great day trip from Sydney.


11. The Crewel Goblin, the only place (locally) I know where to get Weeks Dye Works threads and Birds of a Feather cross-stitch patterns. They also do mailorder.


12. The Quilters Angel, when in Toowoomba, a regular spot for us to visit, both (B & I) being students of the uni (by distance) and having a sister who used to live their. It is worth a visit, have lunch at the cafe, and take in the view.


13. Timeless Threads, Mittagong, have some great quilts but it is the nifty haberdashery items such as pin closers hand made from beautiful Australian woods that ensure this store makes the list. I have one made of huon pine that is so lovely to use as it is really smooth.

I would love to hear of your favourite craft shops in the comments, include a web address if you can.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

thursday thirteen

gold star day

or should that be 'colour my day'? I have spent the day getting creative in the studio/shop of the talented Kirsten and Cath of Prints Charming. In a sentence it was a fabulous day on my feet silk screening fat quarters using Prints Charming designs. I think I may have completed sixteen fat quarters, aqua on white, red on white, and combinations of the two, as well as royal blue on white, lime and brown on white, fuchsia on linen, navy on linen, lime on linen, and royal blue on linen. Birds, flowers, star bursts, rockets, stripes, spots, dots, and lines, exuding the day's fresh air and sunshine, company and tutelage with perfectionism left at the door.

fat quarter list

I would really like to share my efforts however, as I forgot my camera this morning, and the finished work requires heat setting that will be done by Kirsten and Cath through the week, we shall all have to wait.

It was soooo much fun, next time (yes, next time) I shall be a little more adventurous and do more of the overprinting with more colours and patterns. Mixing it right up. I was not ready for that today, being in a bit of a monotone mood, but even working with the monotones it was a bright, colourful day with the crafting possibilities endless.

Definitely a gold star day.

she's sick this week...

Well, all has been a bit quiet this week (sorry), but L has been sick, right after our appointment on Monday morning.

We were in the waiting room, and she was sneezing, runny nose and getting a fever of sorts. So after the visit to the clinic, we went home and L simply went to bed, and that is where she has stayed almost all week. She went off to the doctor the following day expecting a day off, but she ended up with the whole week! Can you believe it?!?!

So what has she been doing from her sick bed*? Apart from a lot of sleep, she has now caught up on the latest Dr Phil, Judge Judy, Bargain Hunt & Antiques Roadshow! Mind you, she has also done some housework... It was discovered this week that the Dyson Vacuum cleaner has better suction when the filters are CLEAN! Fancy that hey...?!

Also on the list of achievements has been finishing some of her longstanding craft items; Various quilts and a tapestry.

*Note, whilst all of these have been completed whilst sick with her 4th Flu this winter, she has been either called or SMS from her manager every day, the absolute clincher was this evening at 6.10pm, GO HOME FOR GOD's SAKE!!!

post about... nothing really...

I was going to post on something along the lines of our recent Thursday 13, but I am under advisement not to at this stage, until we have some firm news. I will say, however, I have to go to the clinic tomorrow to supply a sample that will be used later in the morning!

Anyway, may I present some random photos from this weekend of our 'other kids', Macc and Jasmine (neither of whom mind where they sleep... )

Jasmine on my jumper

Jasmine on the Royal Cushion

Macc-on-bed
And here is something 'L' completed through the week...

Homemade-Beaded-Necklace
And here is Orchid, just beginning to open. It is just 2 years old, and has 2 spikes!

Cymbidium-Orchid-Bud

Cymbidium Orchid Spike
And just a couple more from our garden...

Camellia

Chanti-Pansy

Hope you have enjoyed!!!

moi presents

it is my mum's birthday but somehow it feels like mine, I have been the happy recipient of a chenille bedspread, thanks dad, a collection of buttons, a buckle, and

buttons and buckle
a couple of needleholders, thanks mum.

The vintage cupie doll needleholder is particularly cute, my mum thought I might be able to make something similar, you know so that I could give up my day job.
needle holders