in the groove....

I had a birthday this week. Not unremarkable news, however, the Husband gave me a wonderful new sewing machine!



I am now the proud owner of a Singer Quantum Stylist 9960

and let me tell you, I have been inspired to hook into some projects that had otherwise been too daunting!

This baby has 600 (yep, count 'em) embroidery stitches, along with 5 different alphabet scripts, 12 buttonholes, a huge extension table....etc etc

He bought me a good Singer machine last year, but this one is purpose made for quilting, so now I have two great machines all set up and ready to go!

Today, I whipped up a table runner from a scrap of fabric that I really liked and apart from threading the machine incorrectly, which had nothing to do with the machine, and everything to do with the dodgy operator... the Singer sews like a charm...

 

My next post will feature my latest project, a quilt for me! I have decided that considering I don't have a garden for the time being, I am going to make a quilt featuring flower patterned fabrics, so at least I can carry a garden with me wherever I go....

all things country....

Hello everyone !
For the past two weeks, the husband and I have been renovating our shop - which hasn't been easy considering we have continued to trade during the various sawing, drilling, hammering, painting, shifting...that goes on during any reno...
Added to which, my health has been anything but good this week, so as today was Saturday, total rest was the order of the day!
 I want to share with you the little projects I have been working on- what does this have to do with renovating your business??? - I hear you ask....
Well, the new theme of our shop is country style, so I have made lots of things to sell in our shop!

Pot trivets



matching trivet and quilted pot holder





camo beanies





wooly scarves

the shop will have a country feel, with lots of 'home made' style jams, sauces and marinades. We will also have pies, quiches, frittatas and pastas.
plenty of timber shelves and cupboards so we can display the stock with a homely feel.
Some of the pieces I put in the shop last week started selling and the response from our customers is fantastic! They love the warm ambience and some even to want to hang around for a chat and a cuppa....
hopefully I will be back up to scratch next week and feeling better, but in the meantime at least I can work on some lovely craft to keep my spirits up!

all over a pot of tea....

My cousin Kath loves nothing better than a good cup of tea...well, who doesn't?
We aren't talking teabags here folks, but the kind made with real tealeaves, 'take the pot to the kettle..not the kettle to the pot' type of tea.
During one of our gossips over a steaming brew, I noticed her tea cosy was looking a little shabby (no offence intended), but very well loved I must say!
It was then, during a lull between sewing a new top and knitting up a couple of very thick scarves for a dear friend who is heading off on a holiday, that I decided to come up with a new tea cosy for Kath.
Being a collector of very delicate and divine china, this cosy had to reflect, not only the quality tips being brewed within the pot, but also the importance of the whole 'tea' ritual....
Perhaps even a bit of a reflection on times gone by when our mothers, Betty and Lucy, sat together and mulled over family hardships, illnesses and more pressing subjects like how to fix the country, cause the politicians certainly can't....
I thought about the things Kath loves...Art Deco, fine china and of course, the garden...here is what I came up with...

I knitted it using 8 ply and 5.5mm needles.

The main body of the cosy is a basket weave stitch. I also knitted 24 flowers and 12 leaves as well as a handle to make the cosy look like a basket. I painstakingly arranged and sewed on each leaf and flower to look like a basket full of flowers.

Well, Kath loved the cosy and it immediately took it's place on the serving tray, warming the teapot.

So as we sat, bone china cup and saucer in hand, accompanied by a slice of delicious home made cake, we solved the world's problems, enjoyed the midwinter sunshine and everything felt just fine...

it's nice, different, unusual...

Have been dying to post pictures of a couple of projects that I completed this week!
Firstly, remember I told you about a new project involving size 25mm needles?
Well, it's finished.... and I love it!

Mavis is seen here modelling my new top...
I am going to wear it over a purple skivvy with jeans, or maybe over leggings, depending on how cold it gets! I just love the colours and the pics really don't do it justice.

The loose knit means it will drop and that is a good thing as I am always keen to cover my butt!
I am also thinking of putting a wide belt around it, just for something different!

I will try to get a piccy of me wearing it over the next couple of days!
The second project that I finished is this gorgeous little handbag...

I am so pleased with how this bag turned out!
I used 1 ball of 'big wool' by Lincraft for the bag and about 1/3 ball of some 12 ply leftover I had lying around, for the handle. It only took me a couple of hours.
Love it!
Let me know if you would like the pattern...
Have a lovely weekend xx



pretty in pink

Being caught in the midst of a very rainy long weekend, gave me the perfect opportunity to get stuck in to some projects I have been putting off through lack of time and also to finish off a few things that had been giving me the beady eye...

 My niece Melanie lives in the Blue Mountains and has two beautiful little girls aged 2 and 3 months. These days you can buy childrens clothes so cheaply at places like kmart, big W target, best and less...to name a few, but they don't last like home made things and as I have said before, little kids love to get a mysterious parcel in the mail!
Remember last week's post about the pretty little silky scarves I sent down to my little great-nieces in Canberra?
Well, I am happy to report that they haven't taken them off and my niece tells me they are writing me a letter to thank me! I can't wait to read it...


I picked up some lovely 8 ply pure wool on sale about a month ago. On the back of the label was an interesting pattern for a child's beanie which incorporated a turned up brim and featured a simple fisherman's rib pattern (by who's standard...).... so yesterday I hooked into it...
It looked easier that it actually was and at one point the Husband became quite concerned as I fiercely fossicked through my basket of knitting needles, looking for a very fine needle to pick up the stitches 8 rows down and when I was knitting with 3 needles, even Saffy the cat took off....

Now being the stubborn person that I am, I was not about to let it beat me, so I persisted with it and finished it!

You just can't beat pure wool! The beanie is very stretchy and thick, so when little Emily has outgrown it, it should still be good for her little sister Clare to wear.

Meanwhile, I am almost finished another project that I mentioned in an earlier post, using huge 25mm needles....

I should have some pics later today if my eyesight holds out...

have a beautiful day xxx

crafty girl: better than watching tv!

crafty girl: better than watching tv!: "Well, rather than sprawling out on the lounge today with the knitting, I thought I might have a go at making a top with some knitted fabric..."

better than watching tv!

Well, rather than sprawling out on the lounge today with the knitting, I thought I might have a go at making a  top with some knitted fabric.
The basic idea was to make a top to go over a skivvy or high neck jumper, but something long enough to wear with leggings and boots...



the fabric was very difficult to work with...



the fabric itself was very difficult to work with as being knitted, it just wanted to pull and unravel. So there was a lot of overlocking of every edge and twin needles were necessary.

Pressing it also proved to be a nightmare as the cool setting on the iron wasn't hot enough to get rid of the pesky wrinkles, but any hotter and ....sizzle...sizzle...

thank goodness for a pressing cloth...

On another topic, I made (yet another) scarf on Thursday night. It is in lovely brown tones and amazingly matches the top I just made....hmmm... me accessorising !  who would have thought!

Now I think I will sprawl out in front of the idiot box with my next knitting project...to give you a hint, I am using 25mm needles, so expect something BIG...

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend xx

wrapped in love

I am so glad I started my knitting season early this year!
With an ever expanding family, there are a lot of very cold necks and heads, I can tell you!
This week I turned my attention to my two little great-nieces who live down in Canberra.
These delightful little girls are lucky enough to have a french/English heritage.
My niece Nanette is married to a gorgeous Frenchman who only speaks french to his daughters, so they are lucky enough to be growing up learning two languages!
It comes perfectly natural to them and they are able to switch between English and french as it suits them!
These little girls have wonderful imaginations and spend endless hours playing games like dress ups, as only little girls can...
Seeing as how the winter is really starting to set in here on the coast, I can only imagine how cold it must be inland...and Canberra can be icy this time of year.
so I set about knitting up two more of those lovely silk like scarves that I made for the Husband's nieces.
I finished them last night and posted them off today. There is something magical about receiving a mystery parcel...

I just love the colours and textures of this wool. It is perfect for these two little girls! Although, I do have to admit that I wouldn't mind one for myself....

matching set

Just a quick post tonight as I have so much to do and my eyes are giving me all kinds of grief today so staring at the computer screen is not doing them any good at all!
My great-nephew Nathan turned 12 on Monday! He is a big rugby league fan, so knowing that he is a huge fan of the Eels (Parramatta for us oldies!) I decided to knit him a matching scarf and beanie in the team colours of blue and yellow... Hope he likes it!

I also had enough time this week to make a black and white scarf for my niece, Jesse. I posted it off today, along with a birthday present for my sister.

I just love posting off parcels... I always like to imagine a big smile on the recipient"s face when they receive it....

hope you all have a lovely weekend  xxx

crafty girl: small gifts...big happiness

crafty girl: small gifts...big happiness: "It is often the little things that mean so much! I discovered this today when some small gifts that I had made were received with huge smil..."

small gifts...big happiness

It is often the little things that mean so much!
I discovered this today when some small gifts that I had made were received with huge smiles and much appreciation.
Two weeks ago I thought it might be nice to make some winter woolies for the Husband's nieces and nephews. They all live in 'the sticks' and it gets quite cold and I knew they could do with some warm gear, so out came my knitting needles and off I went!
The girls were easy to please...Wooly scarves!
The boys, just as easy with nice thick beanies!
The baby, well I adapted my slipper pattern slightly and made her a lovely mini pair!



Slippers for Annabelle and scarves for Alix, Nicole and Bethannie




Alix's scarf




Beanie's for Scottie and Nicholas



I just love these colours!



Beanie for Jack




lovely 12 ply wool



The scarves and beanie's weren't difficult to make, although I did try several patterns before I came across a really good pattern for a child's beanie in one of this season's Lincraft pattern books. Most of them require circular needles or set of  4 needles, but this one is easy and is knitted all in one piece.
You know, these days most kids turn their noses up at 'homemade' items and would much rather have a 'name' brand like Billabong or Ripcurl, so it was very heartening to see such big smiles from these little ones.

The result? See for yourself! Some very big smiles and warm heads and necks today as they picnicked and played outside in the cold wind!



from left: Rebecca, Nicholas, Annabelle, Jack, Bethannie, Alix, Nicole, Scottie and Andrew



all in a day's sewing...

Rather than spend the day outdoors as is usually the case for me on a Sunday, I chose to stay indoors and spend some quiet time alone with my sewing machine...(oh, and Saffy the cat, of course!)

I have been coveting a lovely piece of heavy weight woven fabric for quite some time now and seeing as how the weather has turned, I decided it was time to create a winter dress!
However, before I did that, I wanted to finish a pair of slippers that I was knitting for my grandson, Ashton.

I also did some alterations to the Husband's favourite "flanno". A really nice Levi's one. I think he is happy with it....getting it away from him to wash it will be the next problem!

Now on to my new winter dress! I had designs on a fairly fitted 'shift' style of pinafore. Something I could put as jumper under.

I had more than enough fabric, but I always try to be economical when pinning and cutting. I did have to be mindful of the nap and the pattern, so it took me quite a while to lay it out just right.
I took my time and with the enormously valuable assistance from my model 'Mavis' (without whom, I have decided, I would be lost!) the dress took shape!



Looking good there, Mavis!




Note Saffy asleep in her cube while all the hard work was going on...haha



The interfacing proved to be somewhat troublesome....I did buy some quality stuff by the metre, but of course couldn't find it, so I had to use this awefully inferior packet stuff I picked up at Lincraft, in case of an emergency...( I know myself only too well it seems!)



I won the battle with the interfacing! It was a bit tricky though!




Just the hem to go!

 So that was my day...I was quite pleased with myself. Sewing keeps my mind occupied and positive, so the biggest challenge is getting my terrible eyes to co-operate and my gammy hand and wrist to behave as well!


A quick update on the granny squares....
I have decided to run amok with the squares and am using different ply's and needle sizes to create different textured and sized squares. Will keep you posted, but I am liking it so far...