North, South, East and West








Home is the place I love best.

These views are taken from our local lookout on this spectacular day. February and March are the best months in this part of Australia, warm clear days and not too many tourists.

What are these bejewelled sticks?


This is one of my many collections of stuff in my over-stuffed house. I'm no minimalist. These are lace making bobbins with their beautiful spangling to help the lace maker identify pairs of bobbins while making the knots. I have done a little lace making and enjoyed it but there are just too many things for a girl to do. I know I will never be bored. I seem to get stressed when I can't work out what I want to do first or what 'should' be done first!

Darling Daughter request



Work in progress on a very retro vest for my 12 year old. I picked up the book for 10 cents and she just loved the vest. As you can see I am almost ready to begin armhole shaping. The wool is from Bendigo Woollen Mills and chosen by Darling Daughter to look great with jeans this winter. I remember my sister and I having matcing crotchet striped tank tops made by mum in 1978 worn over polyester skivvies!!

Salt........rust









Salt may be good for gargling after a tooth extraction but not so great for steel in our coastal environment. I have live in this area for almost 17 years and have always meant to stop and take some photos on my way to town along the river, today I did!


This rusty old boat has always fascinated me and reminded me of the history of this area. There was once a quarry operating along the river that was the source of the stone for the 4 pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which just celebrated her 100th birthday this month and boats were used to ship the stones to Sydney.


This 3 part quilt is called "River Barge" and it was exhibited at our local patchwork store last year as part of the "River of Art" festival and it is the rusty boat I photographed today with a little bit of added artistic license. This amazing quilt was made by Beth Miller of Canberra who is a leading textile artist in Australia. The quilt sold to a private buyer to grace the walls of their holiday house.

Not as wise as I once was


Can you see the swelling? I had my lower left wisdom tooth broken in two and removed today under local anaesthetic. What a day! Not as bad a childbirth but still not an experience I would recommend. Sorry not very good at self portraits, the lcd screen does pivot around so I can see the image but I am a bit of an 'unco'.


New camera, not so keen model


This is Casper our 10 year old Jack Russell who was the only model available yesterday when my new Canon Powershot S3IS arrived. I have procrastinated for a while on what to buy but finally decided on this Canon as I have had a Canon IXUS for nearly 6 years and had no problems so thought I would stick with the same brand and software. I did toy with the idea of a digital SLR but it just seemed like too big a leap for me, I am no techno mum and Dear Husband is a scientist and of no help what so ever with technology! Thankyou again Jo for your great advice about cameras it was all taken in and chewed on, hope you are happy with my final choice

I will apologise now, you WILL see lots of new postings with hopefully great photos very soon.
.

What to do with an old pair of Levi's






Make an apron of course. Two of these were 40th birthday presents, another was for Mr Blobby for Christmas and the other is mine. Just rip into them and make a piece of denim big enough to cut out an apron, embellish as you go, use all the labels, belt keepers, pockets and scrap. Line with a favourite piece of homespun and write some favourite recipes on it ready for the lucky recipient and then you have a very unique gift in no time at all. Levi's are a great heavy weight denim so mark very durable aprons that protect your clothes and keep you safe in the kitchen.
This apron has a tea towel included which says 'no woman has ever killed her husband while he was doing the dishes', so take note guys!

Tiny teddies keep me company in my sewing studio



This display of handmade miniature bears and mini knick knacks are housed in a printers tray. This was a drawer that printers stored their letters they used when setting up hand printing jobs many years ago. You can see two wooden letters that I have purchased at an antique store a few years back. Mostly these bears are my own work, there are a couple of designer bears and a few made by dear friends, they all smile down on me when I am sitting at my machine.


If you look very carefully you will see what my former occupation was? Can anyone work it out? She's very tiny! Only for those who don't already know?


Embroidered needlework accessories

Here is a bowl full of gorgeous little needlework accessories I have made and collected over the years. Pincushions, scissor pillows and needlecases, many and varied techniques. I have always loved fined embroidery but don't seem to find the time these days, there seem to be too many other ideas to explore.

A sneak peek at our paradise



This is where we live, a gorgeous part of the Australian coastline that we are trying to keep pristine for all to enjoy for many years to come. A fabulous place for children to have the childhood they deserve, lots of freedom to explore and enjoy.


This image come to you from the fabulous program called Google Earth which is free to download and use. Find your home, explore your country or even take an armchair tour of the wonders of the world. You will be amazed at the clarity of the pictures all taken from satellite imagery. Click on the photo to have a closer look.

Clean Energy for Eternity

Dear Husband and Darling Daughter make up part of the first downstroke of the 'N' in ENERGY. This human sign is to promote the issues of clean energy. The Surf Life Saving Clubs of our shire are planning on installing renewable energy sources, either solar or wind powered from all funds collected. This sign was made on south Broulee Beach on the 17th March by more than 1000 people under terrible wet and windy conditions.

Click on the title and have a look at the Clean Energy for Eternity and make a donation if you can, it will be used very wisely and greatly appreciated.

Pinnies 'n' Things

I had a big day in town this week waiting for a tow bar to be fitted to our new car and had nothing to really do, so I went 'thrifting' and had great luck. This was my most pleasing buy, 10 cents so it didn't break the bank! It has about a dozen very retro aprons for adults and kids. I can't wait to draft out some of the patterns and make them up.

I also picked up a Womans Day publication also 10 cents that had a few groovy stuffed toys that would look great made up in Amy Butler or Heather Bailey prints.


I found a book of early 70's knits for children and Darling Daughter fell in love with a 3 colour vest and of course I struck while the iron was hot and have it on my needles at the moment, maybe a photo to come this week.

Also bought a pair of deep blue Spanish mens woollen trousers for 50 cents that will make a lovely skirt for me this winter, looks like 'Manny Quin' my recently acquired mannequin will be doing some modelling work very soon if our cooler weather continues.

Another find was my first made in Japan retro cup, the beginning of a new collection!

Look what Surfer Boy does at school

This is my Surfer Boy and he reckons he really enjoyed "the funnest thing he has ever done at school" last week. He went with a group of very keen local surfing boys and girls, 2 teachers and 1 very wonderful parent to represent their school in the annual high school surfing comp at Newcastle.


Surfer Boy's team came in mid field out of 44 boys teams. The older boys team came in 7th and the girls team won which is a fabulous result for our small coastal town.


They also got to enjoy watching their heroes in a pro comp on the same beach, seventh heaven if you are into surfing!

Stars with sampler bellies




This is my sample from the beginner patchwork class I am currently teaching, last lesson tomorrow morning. Great group of girls who are of course all working in very different colours and layouts. This quilt is from a book by Alex Anderson called 'Keep Quilting' which is an excellent beginner book as it walks you through making 16 different sampler style blocks then teaches you to set them in the belly of a larger star block. Next Alex gives you 6 different layout to set your blocks in. I recommend you have a look at her site as I can recommend any of her books, good directions and great diagrams with pressing directions also.

I make quilts sometimes too


Now don't think I'm complaining but it has been raining for a number of days and I just have to wash my bed sheets and air the quilt. I just rushed out to rescue this quilt of the line and thought I should snap a quick pic and let you see one of my early quilts. It's a very dull day and the colours are a little brighter than this photo depicts.


I made this one called 'Simply Roses' in 2002 for a needlework group as an introduction to patchwork with a border by border or 'medallion' style. It was a great success and many girls around this area have a quilt from this design although they have all added there own embellishments along the way. The applique is all done by hand using the needle-turn method, the piecing was done by machine and a professional machine quilter custom quilted it for me.


I also discovered while out the back that the lovely little cucumber vine you can see in the photo has produced so I am heading back out to do some picking.

It feels like Christmas


These are the eight colours I received from Bendigo Woollen Mills who offer a fantastic mail order service. They will provide you with a free colour card and offer you free postage on orders over $30 and 10% off your first order if you order by a certain date.

The 'Rustic ' range is apparently excellent for felting and there is a nice range of colours in 8 and 12 ply. The balls are 200g and are $10.70 which is excellent value for 100% Australian pure wool.

I ordered my wool last Thursday and my large parcel arrived Monday, not bad when I don't even live in that state!

Will let you all know how my first project goes with this wool but it feels lovely and soft and the colours are perfect for what I have in mind.

Putting my best foot forward



I love them, they are a perfect fit and so very cosy. I don't
think I want to go out anywhere unless it's a girls
knitting night and it would be ok to wear
these I think.

Kidsilk Spray


Look at the UFO (unfinished object) I found in the bottom of my knitting basket, it will be perfect for wearing on these cooler autumn days. I am almost halfway through this gorgeous extremely lightweight Rowan Kidsilk Spray scarf, this portion weighs only 20g! I knit a few rows last night and it was such a pleasant change after completing my second clog on the weekend which were knit with two 8ply wools together on 9mm needles. Photos soon, after felting they fit me perfectly, very unfortunate for darling daughter!

Can you spot the moth?

This another great nature photo from a dear friend of mine, click on it to see the amazing detail of this fairly drab looking little moth, you will be surprised!




I am fortunate to have some very wonderful girlfriends who help me to escape from my everyday life for just a few hours every now and then to remind me that I am not just a mum, wife, homemaker, cleaner..............the list goes on. Girls need other girls to make us feel happy and know we are loved by more than just our families. Thanks girls for a lovely afternoon at 'The Muffin Shop', you know who you are. Girls need to do this sort of thing more often, I highly recommend it to any of you out there, go and grab a girlfriend and have some girl time!

100 unique visitors to my blog

Today is a happy day my blog has been going for a few weeks now and so far 100 people have found my blog. Readers from many parts of our world; France, Luxembourg, Britain, USA, Thailand, China, New Zealand, Mexico and of course the land downunder - Australia.


Do you read it or do you just flip past it? Does it interest anyone? Do you enjoy what you see? Do you want to remark or comment on my postings? Please do, I would love to hear from those who read my blog. Who are you, what do you do, are you a creator, I wonder about these things. Don't be shy.

Why 'Plain Jane' you might ask


This is one of my great grandmothers 'Jane Elizabeth' who was my namesake but unfortunately until very recently all in the family believed she was 'Elizabeth Jane' so I am 'Lisa Jane'. I now know I should be 'Jane' so 'Plain Jane Creations' just seems to suit me.

I am in the process of finding where she is buried as this has also been a mystery to the family, she died in England in 1920 and her grave was never marked. Family moved to Australia and she seems to have been forgotten to most except for the mention of her on Great Grandfathers headstone in the NE of VIC, although her name is incorrect!

Jane died of TB at the age of 45 and I have always wondered about her life. What was she like? Did she knit or sew? I'll never know these things but it will be very good to finally know where she rests.

In need of some autumn cheer

Today it is pouring rain not just drizzling as it was yesterday when I completed this trio of colour. These are knitted then felted glasses cases. They are very soft and thick to protect any sort of glasses or clipon sun glasses. Of course I am very happy today, rain is perfect for knitting. I think I will work on clog no. 2 as I think I will be needing them very soon, autumn is definitely here.

Lots of Dots

These are one variety of biscuits I make for our local General Store which are favourites with kids and adults alike, especialy Casey! If you are in the area you need to visit and check out the coffee, Martin is said to be the best coffee maker on the coast. I have been led to believe this as I am not a coffee drinker myself but do like to indulge with a skim milk hot chocolate every once in a while.

Miss Annie Belle's birthday


Our puss turned 8 yesterday and darling daughter took a birthday shot of the not so keen birthday girl, after all she was rudely awoken from her afternoon slumber. A girl needs her beauty sleep, especially when she is another year older.

Somewhere over the rainbow.......

.................it's raining!

Not so fabulous for darling daughter who is off to a beach day for school dressed in a bikini with a raincoat over it.




These are todays offering of colour on a drizzly autumn day.




I have had a few emails regarding how I make or 'buy' my felt. It is a very simple process; knit an item by hand out of 100% wool that hasn't been chemically treated for machine washing, use larger needles than you normally would, then place in a hot machine wash with good quality wool wash and a pair of old jeans to provide good agitation and do a very long wash until the item felts, it will be much smaller and thicker, then complete the rinse and spin cyles, shape the item and place in a warm place until it dries thoroughly.


Sunshine and shadow



Todays trio are now all tagged and in the Store. I hope the colour combos please someones eye.