A big brown box from Perth…

It was quite a while ago now that Janelle showed a brown box in her sewing room. She and her wonderful husband escorted that box (with a little help from their daughter who guarded it on the luggage belt) to Melbourne on their recent visit. It has been unpacked, polystyrene discarded and is now living at my house. My little ones are loving the box and have spent many hours playing with it… .

 

 

I have NOT had the same joys with the box’s contents – Don’t get me wrong, there has been no problem with the machine’s operation or functions, I’ve just not had time to do anything with it other than open it, thread it, watch the CD Rom, and put it back in it’s carry bag. OK… I am a little intimidated… I will get it out within the next week and use it. I PROMISE!!  There, it’s in writing… now I have to do it!

Driving along a week or so ago, I came across a couple of old chairs on the edge of the road, and promptly went home and sent asked my kind husband if he would go and collect them for me. I wasn’t chicken – I only the had the small car with me. He brought two home despite saying they were filthy and old. Here’s a shot of one (along side two previous finds that also need some work).

I’ve always wanted to try recovering furniture and well, what could I lose? I gathered some reproduction civil war fabrics and made up a couple of blocks… Then had fun with the staple gun. Not too bad for a free chair – and comfortable too! Thanks to the old owners!

I needed the first one I made to live in our front room which has a more formal feel. It’s quite traditional. The next one I do will be in bright fabrics and live in my sewing room!

Here it is all finished next to our new piano. What fun!



Happy stitching!

 

Krafty KJ

My baby is two!!

I can’t believe how fast time flies – how often do we say that? My little baby… my fourth little baby… probably my last little baby… who I was only dreaming about conceiving a little blink-of-an-eye ago, has just turned two. I think I was in denial as I hadn’t arranged a party, a gift or a cake until last Thursday. A walk through K- Mart found a little couch all in pink (with no sign of Barbie, Dora or any other such brand) as the knitted doll I was making her is not quite finished. She was very pleased with it and her new books from her siblings.

 

Her favourite book about cats inspired the cake, which probably looked more like a teddy bear, but tasted great!




A cake and balloons are all that’s really needed to celebrate a birthday and we did that!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Big 2 year old!! Don’t grow up too quickly…

 

Krafty KJ

PS. Stay tuned for her 21st photos!!

Domestic Goddess

My DH has been at it again, this time he made us Norwegian Cinnamon Buns. The recipe comes from another Nigella Lawson cookbook, ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess – Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking’. They tasted as good as they looked!

I was also influenced by the title of this post to whip up another sample for work – no, it’s not a bag, it’s an apron :)

The pattern is by Jan Lutz (The Apron Lady) for McCall’s – M5997. It was a joy to make and I can’t wait for it to come and live at my house.

With Love

2 bags for the price of 1

My friend Cheryl asked me to make her a reversible denim shoulder bag similar to the Anna Maria Horner ‘Taxi Tote’ pattern. After a bit of discussion & tweaking of the pattern we came up with this.

It has a loop and ‘duffle coat toggle’ (does it have a real name?) closure and has an internal and external pocket – the external pocket is worn against the body for extra security. The floral fabric used is ‘Kleo’ by Alexander Henry.

My DH has been cooking again, he uses my Kitchenaid more than I do! After watching ‘Nigella Feasts’ on Saturday night, he made her ‘’Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake on Sunday – I had a tiny slither and it was delicious.

I got to catch up with my special bloggy/crafty friends Lisa and Birthday Girl (for the 20/4) Susan. We went to the gorgeous set of shops lined up in Gratham St, Wembley - Woolly Latte’s (Knitting cafe and supplies), Paper Fusion (Papercraft supplies) & Hot Possum (Funky fabric and patterns). We then went on to a great shop called UK 2 U, a homewares, china and gifts store with factory outlet prices. We had lunch at Floreat Forum before we made our way home to collect our kids from school. Susan was able to spend a bit of her birthday money on some very special bits and pieces – it was lovely to celebrate with you!

I also got a text from TJ today to say that due to volcanic ash, they won’t be flying out tomorrow & will be staying in Perth till the 12th May – I think another catch up will have to be planned!

I have managed to put one mitered border on my Midwest Modern Zig Zag quilt with a little help from this tutorial. One more border to go and I can get it off to the quilters so it’s ready for Rachel’s birthday – it would be nice to have it finished in under 1 year :)

With Love

hello kitty

On a recent trip to Winterwood for some beautiful wool felt I stumbled across this gorgeous kitty pattern by Kristen Doran, well you know  cats have a mind of their own and you can’t tell them anything, so next thing I know he has jumped into my bag and come home with me.



I used an old pair of holey jeans, some Lara Cameron Houses and Bicycles fabric and a little wool felt for the tummy and voila, kitty….I think there may be a whole litter of kitties by the end of the weekend!

Keep Smiling (c:

Guess who just came to dinner!

TJ and her precious family came over for a BBQ tea tonight – and I did give her that big squeezy hug! They have been enjoying the lovely Perth Autumn weather, quite a change from the freezing winter they have just experienced in the UK. They have been busily sorting, packing and selling their things to head back to England for another few years (sniff, sniff). I HOPE to be able to visit them whilst they’re living there. TJ showed me her completed Big Owl cushion (with a little help for Cath), the pattern is by Hot Possum.

I did quite well at the markets yesterday, I tried a few new designs that proved to be popular. Remember when I fell in love with Paullina Simons' Valentino Rosier Taffeta Tote?

Well we got these great taffeta cushions at work recently and I refashioned one to make my own taffeta rose bag – it was the first bag to sell!

I was also inspired by the Melly & Me ‘Sherbet’ bag I made in Melbourne & came up with this.

The fabric is ‘Jitterbug’ by Cosmo Cricket

Time for bed, I have work tomorrow. I wonder if I’ll come home without buying any fabric :)

With Love

To Market, to market

The Inglewood Artisan Markets are on again tomorrow – Saturday 10th March from 9am-1pm. I will be sharing a bags and things stall with Leanne, one of the talented customers from Midland Textile Traders. This is the final market for the season, I will be searching for a new market/forum where I can sell my bits and pieces.

Other bits of news…

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Katherine (Krafty KJ) for the 2nd April – We love ya heaps :)

2. Both Kylie and Katherine have Big Brown Bernina Boxes!!!

3. Welcome Home TJ, Kev, Kaleb and Talia, enjoy your holiday and I can’t wait to give you all a big squeezy hug xx

Off to do some last minute sewing

With Love