And now for something completely different...

It has always been my intention to make and list some baby/toddler clothes in my Etsy shop but somehow the quilt thing took over my brain for awhile.  I felt like doing something a little different today, so I decided on a dress.

I'm using a Simplicity pattern from the 70's (because really, baby clothes haven't changed that much in decades) but I'm going to tweak it a little.  I've made pretty good headway so far but I got hungry so it's break time!  Here's what I've got so far:

The check fabric looks a little hinky in the photo above but that's the fault of the camera (or the operator, hard to say which).  The skirt and the yoke are done.  Having never made a lined yoke before, that was interesting but it came out very well so, Yay me!

The fabric looks better in this shot.  I'd like to get some more of this fabric for a boy's button up shirt, which was originally my intention.  However, when I found the dress pattern, I changed my mind.  Blue check isn't just for business shirts anymore!

I still have to hand sew the inside of the yoke to the skirt, attach the sleeves and the buttons for the back. I also have an idea for some embellishment but I'll post that when the whole thing is done.   I should be able to bust out the rest of this tomorrow morning and then into the shop it goes!

Another day...

...another quilt!  I've just finished a new play mat and listed it over at my Etsy store.  In a completely coincidental manner, the colours are a perfect fit for the long weekend in the US.  Happy 4th of July, my American neighbours!  I totally made this just for you:

This is quilt number 6.  I wonder if I'll ever make it to number 60?  Guess we'll find out!  I have something in mind, and fabrics picked out, for number 7 and number 8 but I should probably do some cleaning.  If I get all that boring stuff over and done with today, tomorrow it's all about me, cottons, my rotary cutter and my machine.  Speaking of which, I'm thinking my Pfaff needs a better name than Pfaff. Any ideas?

It's Go Time!

As of about, oh, 10 minutes ago, I am officially an Etsy seller.  Or, I will be a seller once someone buys something.

It took me awhile.  Far too long, to be honest.  I'm off to the races now though and have a multitude of ideas for further quilts swimming about in my brain.  Care to see what I've listed?  You can check out that little mini list off to the right, or you can come and visit me at:

I'm planning to add some clothing as well in the next few weeks but I will update here when I'm about to make any new listings, you know, to keep you in the loop.

Anyhoo, have a look at my little shop and let me know what you think!

Consistency is not my forte...

Well, at least it's only been a matter of weeks and not years since I posted.  In that time I have made a few things...really!  Look, I'll show you:

This little number was made for my niece, although I fear it may be on the small side for her.  However, I have another niece who will be living near* the first and she might get some wear from it.  Or, I've told my sister, she can pass it on to a friend if she likes.  The pattern for this came from Lotta Jansdotter's 'Simple Sewing for Baby'.  It was the first ever piece of clothing I've ever made so I was pretty pleased with how it came out.

The dress flew it's way down to Australia along with a few other goodies, including: a wee stuffed elephant (made from the Heather Bailey pattern mentioned in my previous post), a very belated cross stitch birth announcement, a homemade card, a pair of Elvis sunnies (purchased in Vegas) and a small bag to carry them in.  Also in the package, though not shown, was some Duplo.  Lego madness runs in the family!




Also recently made for a baby yet to be born (soon!) was this onesie and a top and bloomers.  Plain onesies are super easy to decorate with anything you like - who doesn't like a one of a kind gift?  The summer top was made from the book 'Making Baby's Clothes' by Rob Merret.  It didn't come with bloomers but I'm a sucker for those little pants and they're ridiculously easy to make.

I'm currently working on a bib/smock of my own design but it needs a few tweaks still.  Once that's done I'll post for all to see.  I'm getting close to being able to open my own online store.  Once that's up and running I'll announce the grand opening and perhaps have a surprise or two to celebrate!




I've also done some cross stitching.  I found this great pattern on Etsy by Bombastitch and immediately knew who I'd be making it for (Hi, Andrea!).  It's so great, I made one for myself and The Boy as well.  The one I made for my friend was all black and for mine I decided to muck around and make it two tone.  So much fun, quick to stitch up and it's inspired a couple of ideas of my own.  One of my ideas, which I'll be keeping a secret for the moment, is going to be donated to the Desert Bus for Hope auction.  All money raised goes to Child's Play, an organization that raises money to purchase toys, games and books for sick kids.  Check out the link for Desert Bus if you're curious.  I'll be posting more about my project as I get stuck into it and will give more info about the auction in those posts as well.



Today I was feeling a little 'papery' so I cut out a rabble** of butterflies from sheet music.  I intend to make a garland out of most of them but one has been 'pinned' and will go up on the wall.  I have plans for a 'craft wall' of things I've made or bought but I suppose I should put up my Australia gallery first (it's only been waiting since October 2010).

A paper butterfly in a frame is hardly an original idea.  I've seen similar things numerous places so I have no idea to who to credit.  I can tell you that the frame is a Ribba from the good folks at Ikea and the sheet music is from Chopin's Works for the Pianoforte.

So there you have it!  Proof positive that I can be productive!  As I've said, I've got a few things in mind and a few things on the go so I will be making a concerted effort to breathe some life into this blog.  Seriously.  No, I really mean it this time!

*by 'near' I mean they'll be living in the same state in Australia, but that's way closer than China/Australia!

** did you know a group of butterflies is sometimes called a rabble?  It's also called a swarm but rabble sounds like more fun.  Oh, those rabbling butterflies!

Little Piece of Heaven...

The other day The Boy mentioned that he was going to head out to a computer store for some little do-hickey that he needed and asked if I'd like to come along.  Not wanting to miss a potential opportunity, I Google mapped 'craft stores' and was disappointed with what came up in the area of the computer place.  Until I saw a tiny little orange dot and ran the cursor over it.  What I found seemed too good to be true.

We headed out, picked up the part The Boy wanted, almost ran over a man crossing the road (in the middle of a busy street, waving his arms and umbrella - oh, Vancouver!) and then parked on a small street.  The object of my interest wasn't opened yet so we decided to have breakfast at a little cafe next door.  This was also a fabulous find but I'll share more about that here.

Breakfast over, we wandered back next door and...oh, my.  LOVE.  Instant, forever, no questions asked, LOVE.  My heart was all a-pitter patter as soon as I walked in the door of Spool of Thread.  I was too overcome with glee to remember that I have a camera on my phone and could have taken pictures but if you go to the website you can see the space.

Now, I'm fairly new to sewing, having only made a few things back in the day but I know that this store was a good find.  For example, they stock all 221 colours of Kona cotton.  Seeing it all displayed is like happening upon a rainbow you can touch.  They also have bolts and bolts of gorgeous cotton prints, some linens and a few other bits and pieces.  I read a number of craft blogs and have some seen some lovely fabrics that I've drooled over - it was so great to see some of those same fabrics right there in front of me.

In addition to the fabric, Spool of Thread also carries a number of patterns including this one:

Tiny elephants!

I bought this pattern after a failed attempt to leave the store.  Little 4" high elephants for pin cushions, or a  toy for a small person, or maybe just to have around because...tiny elephants!  The pattern is by Heather Bailey.  I haven't checked out her other patterns yet because I know that will be very dangerous territory for my bank balance.  Since I don't actually have a pin cushion, and I don't want the standard tomato, I had to have this pattern.  Now I just have to decide on a fabric - I have four set aside.  Maybe I'll just make four elephants.  Anyone need a pin cushion?  Oh, and the tape in the photo didn't come from the fabric store.  I was just excited to have found some washi tape the other day and wanted to share.

I didn't walk out of Spool of Thread without some fabric.  These were also purchased after trying to leave the store the first time:

Wiener dogs and chevron stripes!

No idea what I'll be using these for yet but they were so colourful and begging to be plucked from the offcuts basket.

As I said, all 221 colours of Kona cotton were available to me so what colours did I walk out with?

Black and grey, of course!  The grey and the dots are for a particular project (that I will reveal more about later) and the black was just because it seemed like a good idea.

So, that was my adventure and I know that I will be heading back to Spool of Thread in the future.  One of the owners was running the shop the day I was there and he was super friendly (and possibly a little frightened when I said I wanted to move in).  They also offer classes for various projects and I'm sure I'll be signing up for a few of those at some point as well.  I'm just so happy to know this is available to me only a bus ride away (or a car ride, if The Boy is willing).

Bit of this, bit of that...

As promised, here are a couple of things that I've been working on, have finished or have added to my stash of supplies.  I'll probably add a few things over the next few days, as I pull out some long forgotten works in progress (or WIP).  I'm hoping as I begin to do this, the creative vibe will come back to me in a big way, and that I'll improve my photography skills.

The Granny Square Mountains

 First up is a handful of the one-colour granny squares I've made.  Ultimately, they'll all be joined together in a yet to be determined pattern to form a blanket.  I'm not sure how long this particular project is going to remain unfinished and for once, that's not because I'm lazy!  Every single time I've gone to the store to pick up more of the royal purple wool, there has been nary a skein to be found!  I'm planning a trip to Ikea in the next couple of weeks and that will take me near another store that I can try for the wool.

  

Before I began these squares, it had probably been over a decade since I had done any crocheting.  I had forgotten how much fun it can be.  I need to re-learn how to do a lot of stitches, and how to do many that I'd never tried before.

I've also got a few ideas in mind for some small pieces using fine thread.  I'm thinking accessories and jewelry (minus the jewels).  I dug up an old set of hooks that I forgot I had.  I think my mum might have found it in some relatives old stash.  It's a little red, zippered case and holds some of the tiniest hooks.  I probably should have taken a photo of that.  I'll make a note to do that because it really is quite a neat little tool kit.

This little guy is a paper tree that I made one night when I had nothing to do and there wasn't much on television.  I don't have individual sources for all of the papers I used but I believe that most of it came from either Opus or Island Blueprint.  I cut out each of those leaves and glued them on one at a time.  It didn't really take all that long.  It's hard to tell scale from the photo's but the finished piece is 2x3 inches.  Whack it in a frame from Ikea and voila!  Homemade art.

My most recent addition to my (rather large) collection of materials and tools is a set of Winsor & Newton drawing inks.  I've never used these particular inks before but I have used W&N oil and acrylic paints and have always been happy with those.  I've yet to put these to use but they will be unleashed over the next couple of days.  I don't want to say on what just yet, but I will post pictures when I'm done.  In the meantime, look at how lovely these boxes are.  How could I possibly resist?

Pot of Blood.  Awesome.

Oh, dear.

Not surprisingly, a lot of things have happened since I last posted....in 2009. Yikes. I think TLC should have a show called 'Procrastinators' and I should be on the first episode.

Tomorrow I will be whipping out my camera and photographing pieces and projects that I've worked on and am working on. I will then post those to this blog and tell you about them. Won't that be terribly novel?

I'm thinking I might even add a blog roll of all the crafty blogs I read by the people that inspire me. Okay, they also make me a little jealous because they're so damn productive. Time to remedy that...and not in a September, 2009 kind of way.

2011! The year of getting sh*t done!