A Thank You and a New, Hot Gallery...

First off, I'd like to say a big Thank You to Sara who was kind enough to mention my shop over on her blog, Saige Wisdom.  Sara included my bunting 'Hello' cards as part of her weekly {Friday Finds} post.  It was great to get her message this morning letting me know Kid & Caboodle was one of her 'finds' - who doesn't love a compliment like that?  Pop on over to her blog (click the banner below) and check it out - you'll be glad you did!

Recently, I managed to hang a few things that have been on the floor,  leaning up against the wall.  We won't talk about the pile that is still waiting.  My intention is to slowly build up a little gallery of prints, original works and other handmade goodies.  Let me tell you a little bit about what I've got so far:

If you click on the photo to the left you'll get a better view.  Top left is a fantastic print that I bought at the last Got Craft? market here in Vancouver.  It's titled 'The Kitten's Guide to Facial Hair' and features numerous kitties with moustaches and beards.  Love.  It was made by Kukubee.  Click over and check out their website.  It's the cutest thing EVER.

Top right is a butterfly I cut out of some sheet music and whacked into an Ikea Ribba frame.  I think it needs something more but for now, it lives on the wall!  As those who really know (and love!) me can attest, I have a deeply irrational fear of moths and sadly, this includes the butterfly family.  I love butterflies but I don't want them touching me.  It took all of my will power to enter the butterfly house at the Melbourne Zoo last month and it was not a long visit.  I put on a brave face for my niece but really I wanted to run shrieking from the building.  So!  Paper butterflies safely locked away behind glass are the bugs for me!

Bottom left we have another creation made by moi.  There's a great little store called Urban Source not far from where I live that sells anything and everything the collage or mix media artist (or bored kids!) could want.  They sell off-cuts of all kinds of materials, papers and other items that would otherwise end up in a recycling bin, discarded photographs, scientific slides, etc.  I got some of the papers from there and I scored the Pi cut out that just happened to fit in a frame I had on hand.  We're a bit geeky at my place so it fits right in :)

And last, but in no way least, is a Star Wars themed cross stitch that I made using a pattern I bought on Etsy.  Bombastitch is the place to go for nerdy, quirky stitching fun (although, I see they are currently on vacation and the store is closed for a bit).  I had bought this pattern to make a birthday gift for CC but it stitched up so quickly there was really no excuse not to make one for myself.  I should probably whip one up and send it to George Lucas as well (hint, hint).

Oh, and before I forget, this weekend I will be posting about my first ever giveaway!  Check back on Sunday for the deets.  Those who love scrapbooking will probably be particularly interested but that's the only clue you get.

Playing catch up...

I'm so over due in writing this post that it has definitely jumped over the line from the sublime to the ridiculous.  Anyway, here I am.  Hello!  Did you miss me?

I have a number of things that I need to post about but first and foremost is the brooch swap that I participated in back at the beginning of the summer.  It was hosted and organized by the lovely Susie of Flowerpress fame and was a lot of fun.  The swap partners were all anonymous and were from all over the world.  It was an event on an international scale!


My contribution to the swap was a flower brooch that I made with left over fabric from a quilt I had just finished.  At the time I sent it off to my partner, who lived in New Zealand, she would have been in midst of winter and I thought a little reminder of Spring would be nice.


Having never made a brooch before, it was fun to try something new.  Tucked amongst my various craft supplies was a bottle of 'Stiffy' (great name, eh?) that I had yet to crack open.  I coated the pieces of fabric and then shaped them over a pencil to form the petals.  Once they were dry, I used a fairly large gauge needle and sewed them together.  A bit of cut felt and some beads form the centre and the leaves were sandwiched between the flower and some backing felt.  I let it fully dry for another day or so and then off it went, with a few other bits and bobs, to the Land of the Long White Cloud...once the postal strike had come to an end, that is.


I had seen the brooch that Susie had made in a post on her blog and was instantly, and terribly, jealous of whoever was getting this sweet little bird.  I had seen some of these little guys when I was in Australia in 2006, and spending a weekend away with my Mum and sister at a little cottage in country Victoria.  It was just before my wedding and I was relaxing and going to the spa and taking photos of all the native birds and animals that happened along.  I have really great memories of that time and seeing Susie's brooch reminded me of that.  Lucky duck that I am, this is the brooch that I received in the swap!

Susie also very generously sent me some fabulous fabric of her own design, a gorgeous piece of sun printed fabric, some co-ordinating buttons and length of ric-rac, and a rose print card.  I have all sorts of ideas for using these but I know the Ric-Rac print fabric will at some point find it's way into a quilt (maybe I'll finally make one for me and The Boy!)  Thanks again, Susie!

Isn't he gorgeous?

In other crafty news, I haven't been terribly productive in recent weeks.  A small trip the hospital in July, followed quickly by a fairly last minute trip to Australia meant I wasn't up to, or around, to do any sewing.  Although, that isn't strictly true.  I did nearly drive myself insane trying to finish up 3 small quilts to take with me to Australia.  One was for my Mum for her 70th (!!) birthday, and the other two were for my two nieces.  In my mad rush to get them finished, would you believe I didn't take photos?  True story.  I also didn't take photos of the quilts while I was there.  Not so smart but I was distracted by the cute, wee people.  I'll have to see if I can get some photos sent to me, although knowing my family, I might be waiting until my next trip south.

Red. Delicious.

This has nothing to do the crafting abilities of myself or others, but look at that strawberry!  Perfection.  Grown by The Boy on our third floor balcony, in the middle of large and noisy city.  Imagine what he could do with a farm?  (P.S. If you happen to be giving a farm away, we'd be glad to take it off your hands.)

Look how shiny it is.  I may have to print this photo and hang it up.  It seemed a shame to cut into it but I did and had it with some yoghurt for breakfast.  You know how store bought strawberries often have white hearts in the centre?  Not this bad boy.  Red and juicy all the way through.  There's a lot to be said for growing your own food, or at least some of it.  The best part though, is that The Boy isn't so partial to the berries which means I get to eat them all!

Awwwww!

           

In parting, as my gift to you for being so patient and waiting for a new post, here are some bunnies that I saw recently at the Saanich Fair.  Who wouldn't love a hutch full of these sweet little faces?  (Again, if you're giving away a farm, call me.)

Done and dusted...

 Make that done and listed.  The dress from the other day is complete and already in the shop.  I think it came out very well, if I do say so myself.  I have a thing for just the right shade of red and blue together and this dress totally fits the bill.

My friends might find it surprising that I've gone for a nautical theme.  What can I say?  It just seemed right.  And the best part?  I didn't even have to step foot on a boat.

Next on the agenda for today will be working on some hand carved stamps and making a few bundles of gift/greeting cards.  I have a tonne of wee scraps of fabric that are too small to be sewn but would look great glued to some card stock.  We'll see how they turn out.  If they are super awesome (like me), I'll be popping them in the shop.  If not so much, my friends and family might be getting wonky, handmade cards for awhile.  Made with love, of course!

In other crafting news, my good friend AC has recently announced on her blog that she will be taking over her mother's sewing machine this weekend.  I'm eagerly awaiting the results of her endeavours, which I fully expect will be geeky good times.  That's how she rolls.

Also exciting, my lovely Mum (who lives in a land Down Under) has sent me a gift certificate for the Fabricworm.  I suspect it's going to take me quite some time to pick out what I want.  So much goodness!  Fortunately, it is a grey and dreary day here in Vancouver.  A perfect day for spending hours curled up in front of the computer, cup of tea at the ready, scrolling through pages of fabric images.

Although, I did say I was going to work on those cards, didn't I?  Nevermind, the forecast for tomorrow is much the same.

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!