Girls Wear Blue Too

Fabric Love

2012-01-28T08:36:00.001+11:00

Hello there lovely readers!

I just want to give you a sneak peek at the two fabric ranges I have arriving soon. I have been admiring both of these in the coming soon section of the Fat Quarter Shop for a little while now.

Image source - http://www.asewingjournal.com/

With my lovely paper filled History, I wonder if there is any co incidence that both of these were created by paper manufacturers?

Fly a Kite by October Afternoon.

and Sunny Happy Skies by Bella BLVD

I have popped the links in there that take you straight to Riley Blake Designs where you can see the full ranges of these fabrics.

As paper they would have been something I admired but didn't know how to use but as fabric my mind is whirling with ideas for New Blythe dresses, luscious dolly coat linings and maybe a pair of pants or two to help the girls brighten up those approaching autumn and Winter days.

Image source - http://www.asewingjournal.com/

In the interest of disclosure I'll advise that whilst searching for suitable images to share here I found these at 'A sewing journal' and have used them without first gaining permission, they are just so lovely I wanted to share them and hope I have credited appropriately. I think I have found a little gem in this blog and advise you to pop on over and visit as it is bursting with lovely inspiration and image rich! I'll be adding it to my reader.

I Hope you have a simply lovely Weekend!

♥♥♥

I suspect ...

2012-01-24T09:09:00.001+11:00

2012 might be the year I start quilting. Or at the very least patchwork.

Here are some of the reasons...

I know what a swoon along is.

I seem to be constantly adding more to my 'makes me want to try a quilt' pin board.

Please follow the pinterest link above
or click on the board image for the photo credits

I am adding more quilters to my Flickr contacts.

I'm saving lots of fabric scraps.

I envision my next cushion covers for the couch as patchwork squares.

I'm thinking about doll quilts and picnic blankets for my etsy shop.

and the most damning evidence is ...

I bought a rotary cutter and small square ruler.

When it happens I'll be sure to share it here :)

I hope you have a great Tuesday. x

Two can play at that game.

2012-01-23T15:42:00.000+11:00

The following ~~images~~ mess courtesy of a few cockatoo's.

They make a terrible mess!

The worst part is that they don't even actually want the fruit they mainly want the seed so they throw most of the fruit to the ground. I would happily give them the seeds if only they would wait until I have removed the fruit! After chasing them away multiple times a day which was very ineffective I just decided to keep them out of the tree by ...

I'm not looking forward to washing and de-seeding all these little things but at least we get some. By the time this tree fruited last year I was so over plums. I'm not sure if its a little earlier this year or if I was more mentally prepared for the onslaught of ripe fruit than last summer. The previous owner said that these make a very nice jam.

Sadly the cockatoo's are still winning having virtually cleaned the Nectarine tree off and they eat a small portion realise they are still green and drop them! This makes me mad as I love fresh Nectarines.

As I turned to walk away with the basked of bull ace I see two cockatoo's alight in one of the Sugar plums on the other side of the garden. grrr.

Linking up with

Plum Jam

2012-01-20T10:16:00.001+11:00

Is where these lovelies are destined to be. We picked these a few days ago and I cooked them up this morning, they are cooling now.

I'm not ready to make the jam yet so have just cooked these enough to freeze. I'll weigh and label the fruit for the freezer and when I am better prepared for the jam making on a cooler day will pull them out and get to work. This fruit is from one side of a grafted tree bearing two varieties of plums. the other side will be ready within days. I have also frozen Apricots and Peaches with Vanilla in this way and have more whole boysenberries in the freezer ready for jam too.

My mood changed from where it was my last post after a good nights sleep.

Thanks so much for all the lovely care in the comments. x

Feeling Flat

2012-01-18T18:53:00.000+11:00

My Day started off nicely enough, A little bit of a sleep in and a visit from 4 young Crimson Rosella's at Breakfast time.

He pretty quickly abandoned the plum tree and joined his friends eating grass seeds, over past the vege garden :)

Some Purple fabric I had ordered to meet a customer request arrived

These roses that I picked this morning filled the studio with an amazing perfume that bouyed me as I wrapped up the customer orders for the post

So on a day when I was treated to such beauty and pleasure why am I feeling flat and lacking motivation? I can only put it down to the heat and while its not extremely hot by any measure It just drains me. I think I'll be treating my self to some iced water with some lemon slices and an early night. Being kinder to myself would help me tolerate hotter weather I think.

These beautiful things I took time to photograph are the things I will talk about tonight when we speak of what we are grateful for. Something new we started to do as a family this year.

Hope you have had something beautiful in your day today!

if your day is beginning be on the lookout :)

Magnets - a makeover

2012-01-15T08:33:00.004+11:00

I have mentioned before that my studio is an enclosed Verandah off the main living area of our house. It was a DIY project from the previous owners and they kept their birds in there hence there are some odd little things in place that were 'bird proofing' measures. One such thing is a metal strip that runs floor to ceiling covering some brick work beside my table and I use these magnetic clips to hold all manner of pretty, creative, sentimental and inspiring things up there for me to see.

These clips come in a pack of 6 from GoLo in Australia and are about $3.00. I never seem to have enough so went and bought some more last week, and I decided to pretty them up.

I cut circles from lots of lovely Lily Bee design papers, there are from the 'Happily lost' and 'This and That' ranges. I had some jac paper which is sticky on both sides and additionally cut some circles from that and adhered all the papers to the circular indent on the clips.

These magnets are strong and have some weight in them I love that I can use them to display my charm squares for easy access and pretty inspiration.

I am even using them now to clip fabric selections by project on the wall so I can grab something that I feel like cutting or sewing ready to go with out much thought in the moment.

Tiny pockets of colour and pattern make my heart happy so even if the wall is not full of sewing projects on the go, there are still little pretties in sight that bring me a smile.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my work space I aim to share a little more of it here this year.

Card - Bloom and Grow forever.

2012-01-10T19:56:00.000+11:00

In between sewing up lots of little dolly shorts sets for my shop I have been doing some small paper playings too, which has been nice as I haven't made a card for so long but most certainly have not lost interest in my pretty papers, stamps and dies.

I made this card using an age old basic grey range ... I can't recollect the name right now and am not feeling well so am not going out to the studio to check Sorry. Its not on their website its so old! lol

Papertryink dies and stamp and the lovely scallop, lacey strip die is from dienamics.

I had fun reinventing this really old paper with new tools :)

Rachel sews!

2012-01-08T19:03:00.002+11:00

Little Miss has been bugging me for ages to teach her to sew and if you are a regular reader you would know she has tackled a few small projects before but now, just like her Mama, she wants to make doll clothes!

Teaching how to flatten a fuzzy end when threading needle.

Here I am teaching her how to thread the needle herself. I cut the wool blend felt from the pattern for her she pinned most of by herself. I opted to cut the thicker felt as didn't want her handling my fabric scissors and meeting defeat at the first step. I tried my best to explain some basics of construction and stitching to her.

Concentration

She took it all on and had sewed this garment astoundingly well! She wanted to add embellishment which she selected and sewed on herself. The only thing I continuously did was tie the knots in her thread and assist with placement and fitting. She made a beautiful dress and I am amazed at the quality of it for her very first try!

If you would like to see her completed dress pop over to her blog for a peek!

I baked :)

2012-01-05T16:59:00.001+11:00

In my last post I mentioned and linked to the Condensed Milk biscuits right down at the bottom of the post. This was my first time making this recipe. It makes a dig batch of plain cookie dough.

I scooped out a portion added some vanilla and Smarties and made some fun Smartie cookies.

While they were baking I added some Orange rind and Coconut to another batch. Oh heres a little tip too, I keep some oranges in a plastic bag in the freezer and it makes it so much easier to finely grate the rind on a frozen piece of fruit ;)

I also added Spices, Sultanas and Rasins to another portion of dough, that is also when I discovered weevils in the walnuts but that's another story. Lastly I added some Vanilla and Choc chips to another portion. I rolled each portion in baking paper and popped them all in together, double bagged and into the freezer.

I made just over a dozen cookies today and estimate another 5 dozen ready to be cut in the freezer now!

The cookies are quite nice, not my usual type of recipe, sweeter and crunchier but the plain dough lends itself to such a wide variety of flavourings its a winner in my books.

I'm playing at getting back on top of my food management these days- its a money saving venture ;)

Had best go and sort out my pantry I am so hoping those weevils were confined to the one sealed container I found them in.

Sewing Blythe Clothes again :)

2012-01-04T07:59:00.003+11:00

I have started up sewing for my Etsy store again. These are the items I have completed in the last few days. This hot weather we are currently experiencing has me in the studio early before the sun hits that side of the house and then doing the snaps and hand details in the afternoon and evening if it is not too hot.

We are sleeping dressed lightly and with the windows open as the night time temperatures suddenly got much higher too. Today is another hot one but afternoon storms are forecast with a cooler couple of days to follow. Scorching Days are difficult in School holidays as For a large part of the Day I won't let my kids out into the burning sun. This morning there is a little cloud making it more bearable but it is still hot. :)

I'm currently working on a couple of Blythe dresses in the woodland fabric more along the lines of these, but not exactly the same.

I'm planning on making some Condensed Milk biscuits from the recipe in the Down To Earth Forum too - when it cools down a bit of course. :)

A favourite Spot.

2011-12-31T07:58:00.000+11:00

This little spot is one of my favourite places in the garden. I don't sit here often but I take photos here visually it delights me and brings me peace. Filled with lush growth both greenery and fruit from the small crab apple. A hit of Hot Pink from the Salvia and the Beautiful Broken colour of the 4 O'Clocks. The textures of the worn and silvered woods and the warmth of the Terracotta pots, The ever changing plum trees and Roses in the background and the activity of the bee's.

I also Enjoy that this spot is at its best in the times of the day when it cool and still and you can hear the Birds. On the greyer days and in the earliest of morning daylight before the sun hits it also in the evening as the sun dips behind it in the distance, as it was when I took this photo.

Its New Years Even in Australia and I'd like to thank all of my readers, friends and those who just stopped by for visiting here in 2011. I also hope you all have a Bright and Productive 2012, that this coming year does not bring you too many Burdens and may a dream or two be realised.

Take care lovelies. x

♥

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:32:00.000+11:00

A few of my Favourite photos from today so far.

Last Day of School.

2011-12-21T09:35:00.000+11:00

Thank goodness for we are all most certainly ready for a break.

Teachers Gifts

I don't beat myself up too much about the things I 'would have liked to' do as opposed to 'the thing I actually did' any more. Its not healthy. I did get to make Jam from Berries in our garden for the teachers and I added in something from the shops instead of something home baked.

The first picture is the prettier one and this is a wider view of the end of the bench.

It was crazy this morning with gifts, last day of School party supplies, things left over from yesterday.

So above you see the gifts behind them some extra jars of jam and maybe a shopping list. Further back are the berries I picked yesterday and the Apricots I collected yesterday a paint chip and my plant. A partially cleared table in the background. The rest of the bench that I wasn't photographing was a busy messy place.

I decided this will be a perfect gift wrapping station later today.

Still a few things to wind up to be ready for 'the day' but glad to have a few more things behind me too.

Remember to take a pause and see something beautiful in your chaos. Be kind to yourselves

Don't beat yourself up about the 'I would have liked to' statements. Its a busy time of the year but it doesn't have to be crazy too.

Busy time of the Year

2011-12-18T07:15:00.001+11:00

Hi lovely readers, if any of you are still out there.

Its busy here as the school year winds up and there are assemblies and performances to attend. Our social commitments are minimal but its the winding up and finishing of things - the children's activities - that makes it busy.

I have taken a little break from sewing for my shop and have just been sewing for my own dolly girls making them all a new dress to wear on Christmas day. I'm having fun with these girls in the doll community and will try to share some of my thoughts on their appeal to me next year.

Prima Dolly Aubrey

I have also started dipping my toes into the doll customisation waters and it is a great creative outlet for me. :)

Simply Mango

For all of these dresses I have used Natalie Lymer's new Woodland fabric range it is really beautiful to sew with. I will make up some more with this fabric when I start shop sewing again. :)

Custom Petite Wanderling by Ragazza of Blythe studio

In addition to these 4 dresses I have two more in Christmas Prints. One for my Daughters Girl and one for a new member to my rapidly expanding Dolly Clan. I have managed to buy a doll known as 'Margaret meets Ladybug' that was being sold by a lady who found her in an op shop! She looked a little bit beaten up in her photos and I will receive her next week and find out the full extent of it.

Punkaholic People

I expect my blog posting to be sporadic over the coming weeks as we enter School holidays and enjoy the season.

I wish you a lovely Merry and Safe holiday season with loved ones.

Handmade Christmas Decorations.

2011-12-08T08:09:00.000+11:00

Today I am linking up with our creative spaces.

I started to paint this chipboard tree last year but it never got finished in the craziness of us moving house.

Its still not finished to the level I would like but its so cute I wanted to put it on display anyway!

the nest is real and I made the felt bird a few years ago it usually hangs on the tree.

Ahh the Christmas coloured doileys ... well I had a plan to stitch them all together to make a bigger piece but I just cant get an arrangement I am happy with, so for now have layered them all up here for some Christmas cheer!

The votive I made with tissue paper, mod podge and a baby food jar :)

This little arrangement makes me smile.

Dont forget I have a 20% off discount code posted on my Facebook fan page for my Etsy Shop :) This ends on Saturday.

Tea and Toast

2011-12-06T11:57:00.001+11:00

I was making my late morning Cuppa and thought I'd like something a little savoury to go with it. Then I remembered the herb butter I made a few nights ago ... Perfect!

Herb butter made with chives, thyme, parsley and an onion top from the garden.

Spread on toast cooked in the sandwich press to make it nice and crispy. A perfect quick savoury snack!

Do you have any quick and easy savoury treats?

Christmas Sewing

2011-12-05T12:08:00.001+11:00

I had ordered a bundle of basics and some Christmas fabrics to make some pretty dolly Dresses for the shop and for my Girls. Then I realised that I had actually ordered too late and chances were that they wouldn't arrive in time for me to make them up and sell ship etc before Christmas. I had a discount code to use at the Fat Quarter Shop so it was coming from O/S I was a bit disappointed in my lack of foresight but took it on as a lesson learned and wound down my shop sewing in order to do my other things and prepare for Christmas. I even put my machine away and started to use my sewing table as a painting space!

I still wanted to make new dresses for our little Blythe family of 5 so ordered some of Natalies new woodland range from Sarah at Quilt Fabric Delights. Keeping it all local this time. Well Local to Australia that is. I started cutting the dresses last night and have some other colours in transit too. Its so whimsically cute and lends itself well to a Christmas theme.

Then on my way out to drop the kids at School this morning I notice our mail box was stuffed extraordinarily full for Early on Monday morning, I opened it up to find my FQS package squished in there and suspect it was there all weekend long!

I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned that Orange is quite probably my favourite colour, but would you believe till now I did not have any Orange fabric! I was quite stunned by that realisation when trying to find some recently!

Now that I am in holiday and home sewing mode not sure if I will swing back to shop sewing before the new year. I have posted a great discount code on my Facebook fan page for the shop as a Thank You and Merry Christmas so if you have been admiring anything now would be the time to grab a great bargain. I really appreciate the support I am offered through the lovely community!. xx The shop will be stocked again from mid to late Jan if all goes according to plan :)

Decorated Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T08:44:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I constructed our tree and we decorated it, Sad to say I was a of a grumpy Grinch in the lead up to doing this during the day.

The rest of our Christmas decor will evolve in bits and bobs around the place over the next week or so. Before I was a Mama I had a green tree with gold and red garlands and clear glass or white decorations. Elegant and coordinated. Now we have a green tree with red and gold garlands. Clear glass is joined by a riot of colour in enamel, plastic, wood, paper, fabric and felt. No longer elegant and refined but definitely displaying the personality of our family and for that I love it!

We each add one new ornament each, every year and I make a list recording who added which one. Its a little tradition I started when My Girl was born and the kids really look forward to getting their new ornament now :) They love having them revealed in the unwrapping too.

Are there any special traditions relating to the tree in your family :)

This mornings harvest!

2011-12-03T08:44:00.000+11:00

Every morning and Evening and evening I head out to pick Boysenberries.

Each day my harvest is bigger. I pick them slightly under ripe and leave them on the bench till they are more evenly black. I then freeze them whole.

I'm going to try and make jam when I have enough but there are a few that don't make it to the freezer!

For me, the fruit is the best part of Summer !

Its beginning ...

2011-12-02T17:52:00.000+11:00

to look a lot like .... Christmas!

In my last post I said I wanted our first Christmas in this home to be lovely so what is it that makes it lovely?

Part of it is the decorating and decor and for me 'lovely' incorporates elements of the things I love. This means we will be making and displaying some handmade goodness of varying levels.

Our Family Christmas tree goes up tomorrow, the one our gifts will be placed under and this afternoon I re purposed this dead plant. Which some of you may remember I said I had earmarked for a craft project, earlier in the year.

It sits upon a sheltered outdoor table with two of my handmade willow wreaths next to it.

This is my little 'tree' adorned with spots and stripes, cut out with the PapertreyInk Tiny Tags dies. Not remotely traditional but most certainly lovely by my standards.

If you celebrate it, What makes a 'lovely' Christmas at your house?

Its raining it pouring!

2011-11-30T11:04:00.000+11:00

Hello there lovely readers, if any one is still around. I know I have been scarce around here lately. I have been busy sewing. Yes, still working on dolly clothes and loading a few to my shop. :) My latest effort is these shorts and top sets I decided to keep one though so one will go in my shop when I have it finished and get a nice day to take some photos!

We had crazy storms here yesterday afternoon and last night the whole works thunder, lightening, pouring rain, hail and wind in the earlier part of it. We are all safe and sound which was not the case for everyone. We are on a slight slope and could see water running down our pathways like streams as it made its way toward the road and drains. Its raining again now a lovely saturating constant rain.

I'm reading Jackie French the wilderness garden and though I am only a short way into it it is resonating with me and I am looking at the garden a little differently.

I had a special request to make Thomas a Santa hat that would fit over his funnel a few days ago, so I took a break from the shop sewing and struck a more relaxed pace making this up last night.

Little Mr is delighted with it!

I have a lot of Christmas craft ideas and am prioritising my dolly sewing but will be flipping the weight soon for a while and putting more of a focus on crafting for home : ) Then I will come back to more focused shop sewing in the new year.

We are planning to put our Christmas Tree Up this weekend and there are three weeks of School left.

I'd like our First Christmas in this home to be so lovely. That is my Plan. :)

Happy Wednesday to you all, when are you putting your trees up or have you already done it?

My Creative Space

2011-11-24T15:46:00.000+11:00

I'm having one of those days where I am wondering if I actually throw away more sewing 'fails' than than what I produce. When I do look up I have such a pretty view outside my window. its grey and gloomy today so you can't see that the flowers on the trellis are actually purple.

I have more ideas than time. I am working on a custom request for my Etsy shop. Have plans for those lovely doileys, have more of this delicious Bias Binding with crochet edge on the way and three orders of fabric all of which I have plans for.

For other lovely creative spaces pop over here ...

On today's agenda.

2011-11-23T11:11:00.001+11:00

I have both oranges and apples that need to be used so Orange cake and apple muffins are planned.

This morning I picked the first ripe boysenberries. I am so very glad I trellised these there is so much visible fruit and all in various stages. I know most of these aren't technically ripe but these few red ones will add a bit of extra tang to the jam I am dreaming up and I didn't want to risk the birds noticing them :)

I popped them in the freezer whole as I did with last summers blackberries.

This afternoon I'll be doing some more work on some doll dresses that a lovely lady ordered from me. I was in the studio this morning and needed a break, baking was on my to do list so its off to the kitchen I go.

I have some left over Veges and Mash in the fridge from Monday night so Shepherd's pie for Dinner tonight.

Have a lovely Wednesday. x

Work to Do

2011-11-19T09:29:00.001+11:00

But so many creative things distracting me...

Blythe Dresses for the shop under way in the studio

Doileys from Mel ready for Christmas Crafting

Oh BTW she has a lovely freebie with purchase deal in her Etsy shop this weekend

Birthday Bounty from Jaki waiting patiently.

Happy weekend everyone its going to be warm here so we will be trying to keep cool.

Chasing Ravens

2011-11-18T07:12:00.002+11:00

At first I was chasing these magnificent birds trying to capture a photo.

They are beautiful with their shiny black feathers and imposing size, their white eyes are a little unnerving though also intriguing in that they are not common among birds.

Now I am just trying to chase them away as they bring their young down and collectively destruct our garden, eat our green fruit, bathe in and drink from our ponds, frighten most of the other birds away and I suspect eat our goldfish!

Not to mention the noise.

I have seen up to 5 together at one time and know the nest is quite close by.

Here is some more information for anyone interested

http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Corvus-coronoides

http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/pw/vp/bird/16_raven.pdf

Wishing you a lovely weekend. xx