flowerpress

mystery guest

2012-01-28T11:45:00.000+11:00

The funniest thing happened when we got back from camping, I have to tell you.

Last year around this time we delighted when frogs started turning up in our garden. And do you remember we found frog spawn in our new pond last spring. Those eggs were moved to a bucket, on a friend's advice, away from the hungry goldfish.

Fast forward some months and sadly only a few had survived the juggling and the heat of the bucket. Any of these who were returned to the pond were eaten very quickly by our goldfish; Flashy, Fluoro, Pirate and Leopard so we weren't sure what to do with them when we went away. Then clever Mr F got one of those nets that you hang on the side of an aquarium. We balanced it on the edge of the pond and put the remaining tadpoles inside, about five of them, getting to be a good size now, and left for Christmas.

I checked on the taddies after our first fortnight away and they were doing well, there might have been a couple less but the edge of the net had dropped down in all the rain and I presumed they'd made the break for freedom (and probably got eaten in the process).

When we got back from camping I went out again to check their progress. I peered into the net and searched hopefully for life. Splash! A large dark grey shape sped across the net. I looked again and saw that a small blackish goldfish was the only resident in the net. I'd never seen this fish before in my life! Where had it come from? Our fish Flashy and Fluoro are beautiful bright orange Comets and Pirate and Leopard are white with black and orange spots. Who on earth was this interloper who'd broken in and eaten all our tadpoles?!

I got one of my large glass vases and put the new fish in it to see him better. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Eventually it dawned on me that the only explanation could be that our fish had had babies, and indeed later I found another small black fish in the pond. So here's a pic of our babies Florence and Boo, our mystery guests, with their parents. I'm hoping they turn a brighter colour but I'm just quite happy to have them too. What a surprise!

And do you know, while I was feeding the fish the other day I saw a large black shape with a thick black tail rise up from the depths for a moment, a massive tadpole who has survived this whole saga. Here's hoping he goes on to have babies too.

p.s. I got a new zoom lens for my camera for Xmas and one of the reasons I wanted it was to photograph birds. Here are a few beginner shots of me spying on our bird bath.

my creative space - bullseye

2012-01-26T18:20:00.001+11:00

Still busy with visitors here, eating, swimming, having fun, but there's been a little bit of progress on the bullseye blanket. I'm having fun with the colours and enjoying having some lighter shades to add to the mix.

learning to crochet

2012-01-21T18:56:00.001+11:00

One of my major priorities when packing for holidays is organising what craft/art I'm going to take with me. This is usually decided at the very last minute and its not unheard for me to be printing knitting charts or trying to find a sketchbook as the rest of the family are getting in the car

Does that sound familiar? One of the nice things about blogging is hearing other crafty types admit to the same compulsion. Seems I'm not alone in feeling twitchy if I don't have a project at hand.

When we left to go north back in December I threw in a couple of balls of wool, some random crochet hooks and a printout of the Bullseye blanket pattern that Kate made so beautifully on her recent roadtrip. I so loved her version that it inspired me to try one last time to master this skill.

It was only on the trip home that I pulled out the hook and yarn. Luckily the Bullseye is quite a simple pattern and with lots of unravelling and practice I finally got the hang of it. By the time we arrived home I had a small circle and was feeling like I could crochet, at last!

I love how quick crochet is. I've quickly finished the central circle of one square and started on the darker frame. Its not perfect but I'm happy. Google has taught me to single crochet, half double crochet and beginning a circle with the magic ring. I've even gone back and tried some projects that I've failed at before - Kate's Crochet Rick Rack and Christina's simple flowers. I might even have ordered a few more yarns to lighten and brighten my stash.

How about you, do you need a holiday craft and what has it been? And what should I crochet next! Its so exciting to have all those new possibilities in front of me.

le camping

2012-01-17T09:44:00.002+11:00

We are home from camp, back in the real world but not quite unpacked and still finding small piles of sand around the place!

Its such a blessing our annual week of swimming, sanding, walking, talking, weather, fun and fishing with family and friends. I love the funny traditions like camp awards night, cocktails, crosswords and cards, camp espressos and bingo.There was even a tiny bit of craft, some weaving practice, it seems I can't help myself.

I'm still feeling my way into the New Year - starting to think about where I'm going, where I want to go and the challenges and juggling ahead. And we have a fourteenth birthday this week to plan and two lots of family passing through Sydney to stay in the next fortnight.

I'm slowly starting to catch up on blogging, see what you've all been up to. I hope 2012 is treating you well! Oh and I've got a new craft project on the go, and I'm dying to share. So I'll be back soon.

p.s. I've just enabled embedded comments (so I can reply) looks like fun.

2011

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000+11:00

Looking back at 2011 I'm quite surprised to see all I crammed into the year! Big achievements included organising a huge swap, designing loads of new fabrics, knitting a cardigan, some fun tutorials, some new recipes, joining the pinterest and instagram communities and being part of a couple of inspiring swaps.

This was the year I hosted the Big Brooch Swap, an idea that had been percolating in my mind for a while. It was fun, it was exhausting and it was inspiring! I met lots of new, wonderful makers (88 swappers in all) and got to experiment with the medium of brooch making for the first time, sewing my little blue wren brooch.

Project Selvage inspired me to design my Marble fabric and my Lego Bricks prints followed. Both have proved wonderfully popular. 2011 also saw me selling these full colour fabric designs for the first time which was great fun. I can't wait to see what you've all been sewing with the fabrics. I'll share them here soon. Here's to even more designs in 2012 including some more screenprinted fabrics.

I got round to block printing with foam and perspex, one of last year's resolutions as part of one of the three swaps I joined (Leslie's great handprinted fabric swap). That's three if you include Cam's Hottie Challenge which wasn't strictly a swap but raised money and brought attention to a great cause. Another wonderful example of this great blogging community coming together to do great things.

I featured another ten wonderful bloggers in my Show & Tell series. I so love highlighting and celebrating our amazing local blogging community with this feature, and I've made some lovely friends through it too, so this will definitely be back in 2012!

I knitted a whole cardigan, an actual knitted garment, which has been a dream of mine for a good while. I haven't knitted much since then (I seem to only be able to cold weather knit?) but my Ravelry wishlist is long so as soon as the weather cools... Also I'm a bit inspired to learn how to crochet at long last so that might be on the 2012 to do list.

I shared my paper pots and pillowcase tutorials this year (see sidebar links). Its been great seeing people share and use these tutes and I'm inspired to make more. Both have been popular on Pinterest where I have been hanging out a bit this year. I'm a bit addicted to my new iPhone and Instagram too and neglecting my SLR. And Flower Press finally got a Facebook page too!

We arrived home today and have a couple of days to unpack and repack (and collapse) before we join the other side of the family for our annual campfest on the Central Coast. But first tomorrow night we have tickets to opening night for Circus Oz and will be catching up with lovely Melbourne friends who are up for that. Can't wait.

I'm starting to slow down and feel inspired again, I always need this break to recharge. I'm slowly starting to think ahead to this new year and make plans... but that's another post! Happy New Year lovelies. Hope you're having fun and rest and frivolity!!

christmas 2011

2011-12-28T18:09:00.000+11:00

Thank you for all the lovely messages on my last post. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to email back individually. I didn't get all those presents bought and wrapped before we set off either! But it all turned out in the end, as it does.

Our trip up the coast was fun, we listened to I Can Jump Puddles on audiobook and only a three hour detour to a country hospital for an infection slowed our progress. This amazing tree was growing near the front door of the outpatients.

We are having lots of fun in the new house, as you can see there was a street fair on Christmas Eve and we bought dinner at our friends' wonderful food van and had a go on the jumping slide before wandering home with our new light sabres to put out the brownies and pillowcases for Santa.

I've forgotten my camera cord so these are all instagrams from my phone. My sister in law is teaching me to weave. This is hers and mine is (hidden) here. Apparently I'm doing well ;-) Its lovely and meditative like knitting. I'm going to try and video her doing it as its wonderful to watch. We've both started some new rows with pandanus leaves harvested at the the Belongil dog beach when we went down for an idyllic late afternoon swim the other day.

I got some lovely pressies for Christmas, I hope you did too! This lovely Strutt Sisters necklace was ordered special by my clever dear and I also got a zoom lens for my camera. Spoilt! I'm enjoying using it for portraits because you can stand well back and catch people in natural poses.

Another major excitement was the arrival of Miss Poppy on Christmas Day, four weeks early mind you, a first baby for our nephew and his partner. We are all so besotted already by this new member of our family. We can't wait to meet her!

signing out

2011-12-19T16:23:00.001+11:00

Here's one last post before I sign out for the year, to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a wonderful New Year. I might pop in with pics over the break but I'm actually hoping to be flat out reading my book, having a snooze, playing a board game, eating something delicious or lying on the beach. Priorities people!

What a fabulous year I've had hanging out with you guys. You are the best company - wonderful taste, interesting conversation, great food and you tell a mean joke. And your making is always so inspiring. Sometimes too inspiring! Here are some christmas stars we had to whip up yesterday, in the middle of the chaos, with some air dry DAS and a snowflake cookie cutter after seeing similar ones on Pinterest. Ours are slightly more rustic ;-)

I have lots of plans for next year, some more fabric designs, loads of people on my Show & Tell wishlist and even more craft. I want to get more organised and I want to work to make my little business a tiny bit bigger - the usual really!

Here's a last christmas treasury which someone emailled me about today. I love all the different elements and it illustrates the artisan and vintage styles that I love. I love that my work fits in that eclectic mix. Thanks friends for supporting Flower Press and I for another year.

a winner!

2011-12-18T17:29:00.002+11:00

Its that time of year, my thoughts are already on holiday and I'm just trying to catch up with them! A few more presents to buy, lots to wrap and some packing to do before we set off on Tuesday for Christmas up north with my Mum and Dad.

This is our first Christmas in ten years that won't be at their lovely farm but the new house is great and big enough to fit us all, and we know that the important thing is being together. To eat, to dance, to play, to laugh. I'm hoping also for just a little sun for a few trips to the beach, its been in such short supply!

One last bit of business before I go, I want to thank each and every one of the 365 people that entered my Bricks Fabric Giveaway, one for every day of the year :-)

There were some wonderful ideas for sewing with my Bricks fabrics: from pencil rolls, hats, pajama shorts, a dress, a wallet, a shirt to placemats and much more. Seems we all know a Lego lover or two who would love a bit of these. I read the other day that there are 73 Lego bricks for each person on the planet. Amazing!

Of course there can be only one winner, and in this case it is:

Emily from The Boy Trifecta who said:

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I would totally use that fabric on goodies for my boys - maybe some little pouches to hold all their little bricks! I love it!

Thank you too for the well wishes on my birthday. We had such a lovely night. Here are some pics of the Korean restaurant we ate at. They were so sweet, the food was great and we had lots of fun. We'd spied this restaurant from the monorail stop a couple of months ago so it was quite fitting that we had a window seat watching the Monorail go by!

On the way home we stopped at St Mary's Cathedral and watched the animated light show against the facade. If you have a chance to see this do go. Its magic and was such a lovely way to finish our night.

I was spoiled with presents as usual and here's just one of my booty, a new birthday necklace from one of my favourite shops Live This in Leichhardt.

home beautiful!

2011-12-14T12:28:00.000+11:00

Its my birthday today, I haven't opened my presents yet (except my cute chair) but I'm having a lovely birthday so far. I spent the morning at Miss A's school presentation seeing my girl receive awards which was a pretty good way to start the day! So proud :-)

Yesterday I had another early birthday present when I picked up the new issue of Home Beautiful and got to see my Teapot tea towel in this lovely spread! Its pretty cool to have my work featured and I love the way they've framed all the tea towels like art, such a great idea. I have a limited number of these Teapot tea towels, which have been out of stock for a while, so be quick if you want one for yourself. (And help me reach 700 sales, I'm so close!) p.s. Last shopping day Sunday, last post Monday.

We are off to Korean BBQ in the city tonight. I've never had it before but I've been wanting to try it and we saw the restaurant from the Monorail stop a while ago. Can't wait to barbecue at the table!

If you haven't entered don't forget to stop by my giveaway post. 235 entries and counting, wow! There are lots of great ideas on how to use my Bricks fabric in the comments, thanks, I'm going to have to try a few next year. And check out all the other SewMamaSew giveaways while you're at it.

Bricks Fabric Giveaway

2011-12-12T22:45:00.000+11:00

To celebrate all my new fabric designs this year I'm joining in on the wonderful SewMamaSew Giveaway Day 2011. Each year lots of wonderful blogs share in this huge blog hop Giveaway so follow the link to join the fun (it opens about midnight my time).

And I promised a fabric giveaway a while back, so here goes:

* I'm offering two fat quarters of Flower Press fabric, the two in the first photo - one FQ of these Small Bricks and one of these Large Bricks. Lots of fun to sew with and great for Lego lovers everywhere :-)

* The Giveaway is open to everyone near and far!

* Its open until Thursday December 16th 5pm PST. (10am Friday here in Sydney I think? But I will leave a comment on this post saying the Giveaway is closed so you'll know when that is!)

* A winner will be announced on December 18th here on the blog.

* To enter please leave a comment telling us all what you'd make with these fabrics, either something new or an old favourite. (No pressure, feel free to repeat previous answers.)

* Please leave some way to contact you, preferably an email address or blog link. (If I can't contact you within two days I'll draw again.)

Good Luck! I'm off to enter a few myself!

life in pictures

2011-12-11T13:48:00.001+11:00

I really love Instagram! I've never quite clicked with twitter, but add photos and I love it. Instagram is full of jewels from people's days and shows a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Here are some recent photos from my instagram (flowerpress, come and say hi or check my instagram feed online). You can tell just by looking that a bit of Christmas is starting to sneak in, some apricots have been jammed and some cakes shorted! Oh and I gave in on the class candy canes after some enthusiastic lobbying.

Come and see my new early birthday present (#vintage #adirondack #garden #chair!) and check out my blurry eclipse photos!

How to make a Favicon

2011-12-09T10:52:00.001+11:00

Have you noticed how some blogs have little icons against their names in Google Reader and on the address line of their blog page. They're called favicons (favourite icons?) and the other day I got round to making a personalised one for my blog (look its up there now!). Its so simple I thought I'd share the process so we can all have them! I'm afraid this is only a Blogger tutorial though I'm sure you could apply it to other platforms.

Its simple to do, all you need is an avatar image which you convert to .ico format and then upload through your blog dashboard. If you have some avatars made up already then it takes a couple of minutes. I already had a couple that I use in Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest etc.

Avatars need to be simple and graphic square images and the best keep their detail when they are shrunk to much smaller size. If you don't have one then have a look at other favicons to get inspiration. I've used the Butterfly Doily that appears on my cushions. This is a good image for an icon as its squareish to start with and one colour. If you don't have Photoshop or Illustrator, you can use Picnik online which is free or a simple paint or photo program. Experiment with photos, fonts or drawings to find something you like.

Once you have the image its easy to convert it to .ico format. Here's an online ico generator which turns jpegs and gifs into .icos, or download this free plug-in for Photoshop to do the same job.

Once you have your image in .ico format then go to the layout section in blogger. Starting on your blog page click Design in the top right corner. You'll be taken to the dashboard. Click on Layout in the menu that runs down the left side and you will see something like this, above. On the top left hand side as you can see it says Favicon. Click edit (circled in red) and you will be taken to this dialog box.

Remove the image that is there already and browse to find your new image. Then click Save and the new favicon should appear. When you go back to Layout save the arrangement. For some reason Firefox takes a while to change icons, but I've noticed that Safari works straight away. So go and check it there. In a while it should show up on Google Reader too, and you will notice quite a few people have personalised ones, including me now. Leave a comment if you make one I'd love to come and have a look!

baby quilt

2011-12-06T09:38:00.001+11:00

I didn't mean to start this baby quilt. I'd pulled out my Bricks prints and some coordinated fabrics from the stash to make zip purses. And then I found the offcuts from a FQ were a neat five inch width. I cut a couple of squares and then found I couldn't stop! I kept reaching for another fabric to see how it would look against the others and ended with enough squares to make a small quilt. Its the cutting that has always put me off starting another quilt, but this was quite painless. I only needed a few blocks and they are all the same easy size. Perfect for some of the small pieces I had lying around and too much fun putting all my fabric designs together. The quilt is over half Flower Press fabrics!

From there it was a quick make, squares together in rows, rows together to make the quilt top. I had flannel for backing and batting in the stash and found the things I learnt making my last quilt soon came back to me. I had the right equipment from last time too, quilt pins, rotary cutter, quilting ruler and 1/4 inch sewing foot. They really make such a difference especially that sewing foot!

Its smallish but I see it as a playmat as well as a quilt. Something that can be used lots of ways and easy to carry around. I like the idea of it being used a lot.

I haven't bound it yet. I'm not sure I have the right fabric in my stash and other commitments are crowding in on me. Luckily the baby this is made for isn't coming till late January though (!!), so I have time up my sleeve, I'm thinking a spot or a stripe.

Bricks Sewing

2011-12-05T14:27:00.001+11:00

When I cut out the fabric for my zip purses I wanted to make them big enough to hold pens and pencils as well as lego bricks and other treasures. And I based the size on the fat quarters that I sell in my shop, in case you want to make them too! They make wonderful quick and simple Christmas sewing projects and can be combined with a treasure inside, like a Lego mini figure or two.

You can cut four panels (10.25 x 6.5 inches) from a FQ and still have a 5 inch strip at the bottom (but more on that later!). This will make two purses if you are using a different fabric for the interior like me or one purse, outer and lining. The zips are 25cm length (10inch) from my stash. This is still my favourite zipper purse tutorial here, the zip is attached to outer and inner in one seam which I love.

The large bricks I lined with calico. I like the idea of a hard wearing lining in these purses as I wanted to make sure them sturdy enough for everyday use. The smaller bricks pattern is backed with interfacing and lined with a lighter cotton in a spotty print. I like the idea of a fun lining and the interfacing gives a nice structure to the purse.

And those offcuts you ask, well I cut them into 5 inch squares, you get four from a FQ after you've cut the zip purse panels, and then somehow found myself cutting more and more in matching fabrics, and sewing them together to make a baby quilt/playmat. Here's a quick instagram pic of the first blocks. A baby is due in our extended family in January and it feels great to have this present nearly made before I go away. More pics tomorrow. I couldn't stop sewing over the weekend, its so nice to have such a small quilting project as it goes so quickly. I just have the binding to go.

50 years!

2011-12-02T10:14:00.001+11:00

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Mum and Dad. What an amazing milestone!
Married at St George's Church in Campden Hill, London on 2nd December, 1961 you had your reception at the Charing Cross Hotel on The Strand. Love this photo of you leaving on the train for your honeymoon at Tregenna Castle hotel in Cornwall.

Love you so much, hope you have a wonderful day.

my creative space - zip

2011-12-01T11:05:00.001+11:00

In my creative space today I've finished cutting and wrapping fabric and I've got a brief window to try and make those zip purses I was talking about the other day. Luckily I found some great bright matching bits in the burgeoning stash. I knew those 500 zippers would come in useful one day!

In other news the Mini Masterchefs continue to shine. Mr D produced these Chocolate Brulee the other day and we got to use our special brulee blowtorch for about the third time. I think we're going to have to eat a few more of these to make its purchase worthwhile. Hard times! (Photo styled by him :-)

Last Saturday night we went to the School Spectacular. Miss A's school vocal group was part of the huge massed choir (that's her in the white with her arms high - near the top). It was amazing! Really amazing. For those of you who don't know it its an all singing, all dancing spectacular put on by the public schools of NSW and involving 3500 kids from across the state. Did I say it was amazing. The show was closed by Jack Vidgen singing Imagine, he's a School Spectacular alumni. You can see the video and get an idea of the scale of it here.

Another bright spot in my weekend was catching up with Beck who was visiting Sydney with her lovely boy Billy as a birthday surprise. We joined the throng at Darling Harbour and managed to chance upon these motorbike riders doing death defying jumps about 10 feet from us.

I've been a bit spoilt lately because I've also had a chance to catch up with lovely Kate (and her sweet boy) now she's back in Sydney and living not so far away (check out these capsule quilts, what a great idea!). Its been so nice to put faces and voices to both these bloggy friendships, and so nice that they even more interesting and lovely in person.

More amazing stuff over here.

clouds and um... clouds

2011-11-29T08:44:00.001+11:00

Here are the last of my new fabrics. These first two have been around for a little while but never available as fabric till now. Both were designed around the same time and embarassingly, both seem to have had the same working title of Clouds. Not very inspired.

I think I need some help dreaming up better names, any suggestions?

The cloudy one appears in the shop as Cloudy (?). The green print I'm calling Links (like I said, naming help people!) though it started life as Clouds. Cloudy was made around the time I was playing around with kids' designs for the Project Selvage competition. My kids love this one and want me to make a pillowcase with it and so I've only got one FQ left in the shop, be quick if you like it.

Links started as a doodle. I've had it printed in this graphic grassy green on white but love it in these other combinations here and here. Hmm, if only I could get everything printed every which way.

Also new is Marbles in large format on purple/mauve. I love the marbles big and have some more of the large blue on order. I have 4 FQs only of this. I had lots of fun the other day playing around matching it with the other prints in the series. I like the way they play together, just as I had imagined :-)

My favourite combo is perhaps this one below, the new Flower Bed prints. My friend was similarly smitten and has just snapped up most of the Bloom and Daisy Dots to make pillowcases for her girls' room. She was here to pick up some Marbles fabric she'd ordered for her son's duvet/doona cover. Can't wait to see how they all turn out. Hopefully I'll get pics to share.

barcelona

2011-11-28T12:59:00.001+11:00

Amazingly (because I have been procrastinating about making this skirt for as long as I can remember!) I finished my Barcelona skirt the other day. After canvassing your opinions about skipping the lining, and getting some great advice in return I decided to substitute a bias waistband. This decision lasted about as long as it took to make up the bias. I wasn't happy with the way the skirt was hanging as its quite a thin fabric and it didn't look right, wasn't flattering.

I'd been worried about a facing riding up or showing through the fabric so I bit the bullet and decided to try a lining as the pattern says. It was actually a quick sew though annoyingly I had fiddled with the sizing on the outer and then cut a straight medium on the lining which turned out to be a perfect fit. Hence the (dodgy) darts added at the last minute at the front of the skirt, to make the two match.

The best thing about the lining is the inspiration I had to use a vintage sheet from the stash! The pattern calls for calico, but I can only imagine that the calico they are talking about is much lighter than the fabric I have of the same name which is quite heavy. I felt it would be hot and cardboardy, making the skirt quite stiff.

The vintage sheet is the perfect solution. Not only do I get a pretty print lining that makes me smile even if no one else sees it, but the fabric is prewashed (many times over!) and its soft worn finish makes it so comfortable to wear. Not only that but its full cotton and lightweight. Perfect!

Apologies for the crap photos of me wearing it, I tried twice but this is the best I could get.

I like this length but want to try a slightly shorter A Line. I think I might use this pattern I just bought (retro discontinued on Etsy) inspired by this pic in my pinterest board. Isn't it cute!

p.s. Thanks for the fabric orders and sweet comments. I've been playing with my new prints today and hope to make something in Bricks to share on Thursday. Though must stop sewing and start Christmas shopping soon!!

bricks in print

2011-11-26T09:00:00.000+11:00

There's something wonderful about printing pattern on fabric and seeing the designs come to life. So it was fun to pull out the Bricks fabric and see how it worked in lengths. I'm really happy with it!

After all your feedback I couldn't decide which to print, so I have four versions. Two large format - purple and bright blue, and two smaller format - yellow and sky blue.

They are now up in the Flower Press shop for a bit of Christmas sewing.

I can feel a Lego bag coming on. Something to keep those little pieces under control. Or maybe a zip pouch made in Bricks fabric with Lego Mini Figures inside (we love those round here!). Wouldn't that make a great stocking stuffer, actually don't tell my boys, I'm definitely going to make some!

For the next little bit I'm giving a little discount and free postage in Australia and $1 for OS, on all my new fabrics, to celebrate and thank you all for your lovely feedback. It means so very much to me.

I've got a couple more prints too but I'll share them another time. Oh and that skirt, I finished it yay! I have a photo, its not very good, still raining here, but I might post it here after the great advice you shared.

christmas!!

2011-11-25T13:00:00.001+11:00

Oh, I'm so excited, I just received the most fantastic parcel! Remember I ordered all that fabric just a couple of weeks ago? Well it landed on my doorstep this morning and its perfect, even better than I imagined!

My bricks are here!! Yay!! They look amazing on fabric. I couldn't decide which colour and size to order so I have lots of different combinations. I'm going to take some photos (go away clouds!) and post about and list them later.

I ordered lots more marbles on blue too for those who want more of this and I can offer yardage now too. I couldn't resist seeing big marbles on purple too, so there's a little in the shop, be quick. For those waiting I have more of the Triangle Twist too, in the large format like the pattern that appeared on my pillowcases.

And I have more to show you! I can't fit them all here but I do want to introduce you to these three prints from my new Flower Bed series - Trileaf, Bloom and Daisy Dots. A couple I've shown before but Trileaf, at the top there, is my very favourite new print. I spoke yesterday about choosing colour schemes for this, I have some others coming. I've been working on this one forever, tweaking it, getting it just right. This design will appear next year as a screenprint too, in a heavier weight for home decoration.

The Daisy Dots (aka Chicken Spots) are a design I did while hanging out with my youngest son when he had Chicken Pox last year. My Bloom design was born then and I went on to rework it for my Cheater Quilt entry later in the year. I love the colours used and they work even better with the pale pink background I've added.

These three designs are now in my shop. There is a little bit of a discount and free postage in Australia to celebrate their arrival. Prices for larger cuts are listed, you save a bit the more you order and saying that I'm going now to list a Five FQ discount, so you can have a bit of each!

Back soon with those bricks and some other new designs!

my creative space - make

2011-11-24T11:12:00.001+11:00

Raining here again this week, but I'm quite enjoying it, its the perfect weather for hunkering down and doing some sewing and cooking.

After doing some shop sewing I started the Barcelona skirt, which I've had the pattern for for a while. I've finished the basic skirt exterior but I'm baulking now at lining it, which the pattern calls for. I think it will be too heavy for a summer skirt. I'm weighing up using a simple bias around the top or making a short lining or facing that comes down just a small way. What do you think I should do? I think I'm leaning toward the facing but I'd love some advice.

As well as ordering some Toy Box quilting fabrics to replenish the shop the other day I used the Spoonflower free postage days to order some new fabric designs, including a favourite in poplin and voile. I'm thinking I might make a skirt and a top. I had so much fun with the colours, using source images for inspiration I came up with some schemes I love. I must show you, I might post them here in the next few days.

Miss Master Chef decided the other day to make rainbow cupcakes, which turned out amazingly well considering she forgot the egg, and had to grind her own icing sugar from normal sugar. Resourceful!

Jacarandas and hydrangeas are lighting up the dark days around here and I couldn't resist cutting some of May's early blooms with their subtle blues and pinks and greens.

Our creative spaces is full of inspiring stuff again this week.

show & tell - tania rhea

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001+11:00

The mix of delicious dishes, pastel landscapes, thrifted linens, a smiling baby, shafts of sunlight across vintage furniture, I can't exactly put my finger on what I love most about Tania Rhea's Ivy Nest blog, but I do know its one of my newest favourites. Tania and her husband and three kids have made a tree change to the Monaro region of NSW, a land of long horizons, mountain ranges and pebbled streams. Their simple house, designed and made by them sits surrounded by a new orchard of fruit trees with a view to the distance of often dry and parched fields and hills.

Tania cooks the most fantastic food, makes her own bread, washing powder and granola, she knits and sews and makes her own nappies. She buys her meat in bulk and picks her bouquets from local trees. Her family take long drives into the wilderness around them and picnic by pristine streams. Its a life we'd all love if we could slow down long enough to appreciate it. I know I would. Until then I'll be reading Ivy Nest dreaming over Tania's food posts (delicious), jealous of her country auction finds and wishing I had the space to plant 14 heritage apple trees at a time!

Thank you Tania for sharing these glimpses with us and for being part of the Show & Tell series, the last interview for 2011. Thanks also to all my participants this year, its been a lot of fun and an honour to share your stories.

Name
Tania Rhea
Location
Monaro region NSW
Blog
Ivy Nest
Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/taniarhea/
Ravelry
http://www.ravelry.com/people/ivynest

1. Can you give us a short description of your blog/style/work
My blog is mainly about my day to day. What I am creating, cooking up or doing with the kids. I love the idea of a simpler type of lifestyle and finding creative solutions and outlets in the day-to-day. I enjoy capturing these moments on my camera. There is a lot of beauty in our everyday that easily goes unnoticed.

2. Why blog? How did you start?
I really enjoy blogging. I'd been reading and very influenced by blogs for the past couple of years. Blogs were such an eye opener for me. Eventually I began toying with the idea of starting a blog and I eventually took the plunge and began. For me blogging is about sharing ideas, support and communicating with like minded people. There are not many people in my day to day that are into crafting or understand why I would bother making something that I could buy. Though I have to say that baking is making a big resurgence in our area!

3. Family taught/Self-taught/Trained?
Mainly self taught. Though I come from a long line of dressmakers - from my mother through to my great, great grandmother. My mother sewed all my life and made most of my clothes when I was little. She worked at Mr K in the 70's. Unfortunately I had absolutely no interest in learning to sew until I had my own children. I did a term of sewing in high school and managed to not make a single thing!

About three years ago I inherited my Mum's old sewing machine. I started off with cushions, then a dress for my daughter and I was soon hooked. Mum gave me a few tips along the way, and whatever I'm not sure of I seem to muddle through okay. Knitting is another new love, which my mother in law gave me a little help with, and I have been learning ever since with the help of You Tube. Progress is slow, but I'm getting there.

4. Workspace - studio or kitchen table?
It was always the kitchen table until a recent room re-shuffle. So now I have a corner of a room with a table for my sewing machine and gear. It's so nice not to have to pack up at the end of the day and knowing that I can just do a little sewing without all the rigmarole of setting up. No kids tripping over leads either!

5. Blog/Shop name, where does it come from?
My daughter Violet was very nearly an Ivy. I loved the name but hubby didn't share the enthusiasm. So the blog got "Ivy" and I added the "nest" part to represent our home and family life.

6. Favourite media to work in?
Probably fabric. I love repurposing old items. Op shops are a wonderful source of fabrics - old cotton or linen tablecloths, lovely wools and vintage sheeting. Wool for knitting is a close second.

7. Ambitions/future directions/future projects/medium you'd like to try?
I'd love to have a go at crochet one day. Perhaps an Etsy shop one day in the future (if I find the time!)

8. Are you neat and organised or, ahem, creatively messy?
Both! I love to be neat and organized, but let's face it, with three kids this is not really practical. Particularly when I am in the middle of something. I get scared to put anything unfinished away as I fear it will never get completed. So my desk can get pretty messy.

9. Favourite handmade, handcrafted item you own not made by you
My mum made a lovely little dress for Violet with a Peter pan collar. One to put away for the grandkids I think.

10. Favourite food/recipe?
I have a very sweet tooth and cannot go past a good caramel slice. Or a well made fruit and custard flan. As for savouries I'm going to go with old favourites lasagne and lamb roast (yorkshire pudding included).

11. Favourite colour?
I've always loved blue. When I was a little girl and all my friends had pink rooms, I insisted on blue. Green would be a close second. But my favourite colour to wear is red.

12. Star sign?
Leo. I've been told I'm a typical Leo.

13. Favourite place, landscape (not necessarily Australian)?
I've never travelled overseas so definitely Australia. Favourite place in the world would probably be Broulee (south coast NSW) where I spent a good part of my teenage years. Lots of summer memories there.

14. Any tricks for juggling life/work/family with creative pursuits?
Try and make a little time for creating everyday. It's a little like feeding your soul. Don't wait until everything else is done because it never will be. Little windows of time can usually be found here and there, even if it's only 15 minutes.

15. Favourite artists, artisans, crafters?
There are so many wonderful crafters in the blogging world. I find Soulemama very inspiring. There are too many to mention on the local blogging front, but I have many favourites that I read daily.

16. Your favourite thing you've made/written/done?
Aside from my kids of course, it would be building our home from our own ideas and design. It was quite amazing to see our ideas materialize and all the different elements of new and old come together. Of course the most stressful thing I have done yet also.

17. Three words to describe yourself?
This is a hard one. I'll have to ask hubby. He says persistent, creative and earthy.

18. What do you like to do besides creating?
Drinking coffee is up there as well as going for picnics with the family. I have always been a bookworm so there are always books and magazines strewn around, much to my hubbies dismay. You might also find me pottering around in the garden when I have the chance. And I haven't yet passed an op shop without having the urge to go in.

lilies

2011-11-18T14:28:00.001+11:00

The weather in Sydney at the moment is quite schizophrenic, it keeps swerving between really hot and cold and windy with some huge storms in between. But the good days are just fabulous and the garden is loving it. Here are some more of my daylily babies (story here) and a view looking into the back garden which I set up when i was designing that bit as a haven for my more precious plants from balls and games. Didn't turn out that way but it was a good idea! If you sit on that bench the dog jumps and sits leaning against you, which I love, but can be a surprise to the uninitiated :-)

Love these little reminders to savour the little things, found by my girl on Pinterest - just little things, and this song from last night's Rockwiz makes me smile too (make sure you watch till the ukelele solo!).

See you for Show & Tell on Tuesday!

friday good stuff

2011-11-18T13:52:00.003+11:00

I put this beautiful Rick Rack ring on the day it arrived and it hasn't come off. Its Christina's work and I bought it a couple of months ago after having it on my wish list for ages. I'm so glad I did, I just love it. I think it would make a great Christmas present for someone, don't you?

I have also been remiss in thanking dear Tania for the prize she sent me for winning a pop quiz she had on her blog a while ago. How fab is that pot holder! And she's so sweet she put a bit of my Rick Rack print in there too. I have it hanging in my kitchen and its saved me so many burnt fingers. I'm adding it to my new Flickr pool of Flower Press Fabrics. I'd love it if you wanted to add any pics to the pool. I have big plans for lots more fabric in the future and the nicest thing about that is seeing lots of people using it! Most of the red Rick Rack print is sold out now, (must get round to reprinting!) but I do have some good size scraps though which I might pop in the shop. The aqua is still available.

The last two pics are some of yesterday's Spotlight haul. I was so glad to track down some of this big dot that I saw ages ago on Kate's blog. Inspired by the craft blog world I am determined to make a skirt, at least one! I love the vintagey mustard floral, that might be a skirt too. And the christmas fats? They were $1.50 each. And you know I can't resist a dot or two.

Happy Friday friends, hope you have a lovely weekend planned. We get to catch our breath this weekend after some busy times and before we head into some more busy-ness next week. I have a flowery post planned for the weekend and I'll also be back Tuesday next week with the last Show & Tell for the year. It's a goody, so tune in then.

Can you believe how fast the time has started flying by. Time to get organised I think!

my creative space - gift bags

2011-11-17T10:45:00.001+11:00

A bloggy friend emailled me last time I showed my treasure bags to ask if she could order a couple. I was delighted to help out and while I was at it I couldn't resist whipping up a couple extra. I'm not the fastest sewer and have limited stocks of these fabrics, so if you are interested in buying one email me quick and tell me your preference (email in my profile top left). ~~The small blue marbles are spoken for.~~ Just the polka dots left folks :-)

I have a couple more bags to finish which are going to be slightly larger, sewing one from an offcut of my handprint swap, my Starry design.

First a trip to Spotlight is on the cards so I can buy some more calico to line them and some nice cord to secure the rest. Always good to have an excuse to wander the haberdashery aisle!

p.s. I'm still working on that promised tutorial for the foam stamping from last week, I just need some time to take some photos, and maybe print some more fabric while I'm about it.

More crafty types at our creative space.