All about the American dollar

All you need to know is that it's whupped the poor Aussie dollar and kept it cowed for a good few months.

Not a good thing for a girl with a serious Etsy habit.

I went on Etsy blackout, but then the solution occurred to me. How to feed my habit? - Win stuff!


This little beauty arrived yesterday, courtesy of my favourite jewellry shop on Etsy, Puffluna. I've bought a few things over the years (if you're my husband, take note that I like her chunky jewellery, and my favourite colour is red. < base flattery>You can do the rest, you've got great taste < / Base flattery>).

Julie (Puffluna) runs a giveaway about once a month on her blog. That's how I scored an Etsy hit for downunder down-and-outs when I won a voucher. In US dollars. Lucky me!

There are several of my bracelet in the shop but Julie's such a sweetie that she made one slightly longer, just for me - just the size I like it! I have been wearing it non-stop since it arrived yesterday, and I keep looking at it and sighing. The Japanese owl reminds me a bit of Totoro.



Now, enough Ms. Nice Person. I have a beef to take up with you lot.

All this cynicism about cricket is completely and utterly unacceptable. You leave me no option but to embed subliminal secret messages into each and every post, brainwashing you as to the glories of the 5-day test match and the excitement of the bouncy wicket and trembly bales.

Yes, that's jargon - there will be a quiz later.

Matty agrees with me. After all, he's retiring at 37 (why can't I retire at 37?)
Question: Beauty and the Beast. Which one's which?


Oh dear. I had the first chocolate bar of the new year, today - and I think it has gone to my head.... (of which, more anon, when I have recovered from your shocking show on the cricket post.) At least Handmaiden's got the right attitude!

B

Spoonfuls of delight

I've been hanging out at the Spoonflower blog recently, having a look at the wonderful creations other people have made and printed onto fabric using the service. Roll over the images above to see the credit, and click through to browse hundreds of interesting, diverse and amazing designs people have been working on.

Now if only the Australian dollar would bounce back up a bit...

Cricket for Crafters: a picture-post

Well, my secret is out. Cricket. That sport many of you refer to as akin to watching paint drying - an opinion I used to agree with but now, for many years.....

This represents excitement and the sunny days of summer:

So - why would a crafter be interested in cricket?

Well, it's well known that we are fascinated by patterns, particularly nice neat squares and lovely colours.


And art quilters look for interesting and unusual patterns everywhere.

(No, that is not me with a scorebook, stats cards and a radio. There's cricket, and then there's obsession....)

Why else do we like cricket? We love fabric, and we appreciate its bright colours and draping qualities:


And if it all gets a little slow for a while....

Well, we can always pull out the scrap bag and make brooches.


Five brooches, made at the MCG; many overs, plenty of interesting people watching, a mild sunburn and a lovely day. That's why I love the cricket.

B

PS. Photo credits, all to Mr. Tacc., except for the one at the bottom. (And I'm in trouble for forgetting yesterday...)

Playtime...

I've been having a lovely time messing around on the computer, playing with patterns.

I think this is why I'm so in love with fabric: it's partly about the heft and feel of the fibres, and a lot to do with colour, but the pattern repeat and the way it spreads across the surface of the fabric is fantastic. Endless possibilities for sewing it together into different things.

These patterns aren't my own: they're traditional design, scanned and muddled-about with in a pretty superficial way. But they'd make nice quilting fabric, or paper, or something fun. Or, modified into embroidery designs and quilting patterns. For now, I just play with the colours, and that amuses me....



Hey, what happens if I press these buttons?

Phoo!

Endless fun...

Slouching around on a Vespa

Ok, here's a thing. If you're sitting on a classic Vespa, you have to sit perky and look groomed, right?

Well, now that the gift-giving season is temporarily abated (I won't say over), I can show you my slouchy take on Vespa style.


This bag was made with love and late-night finger-pricking for my closest friend. I saw the gorgeous heavy cotton in Amitie and thought of her immediately - we both adore Italy, and she got married there recently, lucky girl. We love and talk about food constantly, and we both like to pack killer lunches for workdays, so it's big enough for a plastic tub or two, or a sandwich and a book, or any number of other good things....


The lining and strap are of the fabric I used on my living room curtains, which sounds bad, but is good when you know that it was a super-soft and luxurious expensive end-of-the-bolt that I picked up for a song at Rathdowne Remnants before they moved. It's snuggly, but strong. I ended up with meters and meters of it. Mmm.


In retrospect, I might have included some interfacing to stiffen up the sides of the bag, but now that it's done and the dust had settled, I think it's great as it is.

Best of all?

I used exactly half the scooter fabric, so I can make another one... for me!

Little Things

This little coin purse was finished yesterday, with much thumping and banging (who said there would be metalwork involved in sewing? Ha!) It's the progeny of my purse frame class efforts in December with Nikki and the gang (Bellgirl called it a choir, but that sounds more like a 50s pop group) -- and it will soon be heading off in the post as a little surprise for someone. On further details, my lips are sealed!

Today's the last day of my holidays, and it's back to work tomorrow. Ending the holiday as we started it, we are showing around some out-of-towners today, friends of friends, with a road trip out of the city. Part of me wants to stay and sew, ekeing the most out of this hoiday for my most relaxing hobby, but the other part has been out for a walk and seen that it's a beautiful morning, set to be gorgeous day. Do you ever want to cram more than one day's worth of fun into the days you've got?

I suppose that's my theme of the new year - trying to resist cramming - with all of the connotations of stress, discomfort, and shoddy workmanship that it implies! - and enjoying the moment. Be a little less demanding of myself. Learn to follow what's important, not stress about the unimportant things. Right. And with that, I'm off to zip up a couple of seams before we have to hit the road!

Toodle pip.

B

Away... and back again!

I hadn't intended to take a blog-break, but with the onslaught of Christmas I felt pulled apart. All I wanted for Christmas was to stay at home, nose stuck in a book.

I knew a break was coming, and when it finally did, I pulled in my horns, tucked the sheet up over my head, popped the 'Back in 5' sign on the door, and hibernated. (There's four metaphors for you. Want some more? No? OK.)

Lime baked cheesecake, mangoes and sparkling rose.

Wooowee....

So, we've had quiet days and a stack of books. Shortbread came... and went. A similar fate met the cheesecake. I spent a day with my best friend, and we scored booty on the side of the road in the form of an abandoned armchair. We went fabric shopping. I sewed, sketched, slept in, sorted out, dusted (my goodness), and slept some more. It's all very ordinary, but sometimes it's quiet everyday home life that you need.

Baby grow for the nephew whose arrival is anticipated any moment now.
Red fabric fused to light interfacing; satin-stitched to the grow. My drawing.

Here's a little something I made today, and I'll be back around the traps with comments and posts. I couldn't leave my little part of Blogland - but it's been nice to be away -- at home -- for a while.

toodle pip, back anon.

B.