Another little collection, crochet stones this time........

Love

Love

 Love

 Where it all began!

Remember I said I wanted to have a go at making something like these beauties when I found a bag of vintage crochet cottons at a thrift store recently.  

Number two, just need to find the perfect rock when the sun comes up.

Our Sailor Boy relaxing with Miss Ruby in front of the wood fire.

Front

 Back, not sure which I love best.

These two are just besotted with each other.

Crochet......I've really caught the bug

Finished this last week, soaked, blocked and worn once already.  I started this project back in January and I'm proud of my efforts to finish this.  It is really delicious, so soft and drapey, my first fine crochet work.  It weighs 142g and measures 58"wide by 28" deep, perfect for bandit style wearing.  I added a 5 chain picot to the centre of each scallop in the final row which looks great but was really handy for threading the blocking wires through.  I had 8g of wool leftover so this project cost $1.42, not bad!  I have 134g of this wool in a pale turquoise, might have to search out a pattern for that very soon.

In June my Jellywares winter yarn club package arrived and inside was a ball of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and this is what I made with it.  A pair of Ripple Lace Finglerless Gloves for Darling Daughter who is leaving next week for a 4 month European backpacking trip of a life time with her boyfriend of almost 4 years, Jack Sparrow.  I was slow to get started on my first yarn club package, I was a bit scared if the truth be know, crochet is still a bit out of my comfort zone but I pushed myself and I did it.  I made the pair in one evening.  Great easy pattern, free on Bethany Scofiled's blog.  I did use a smaller hook,  3.5mm and started with 36 chain to start, bit firmer and thicker fabric.  I'll be making these again, great quick gift.  

Made this lovely soft cowl for our shop a couple of weeks ago, reminds me of Lemon Delicious pudding!

July yarn club package arrived, and it exceeded all expectations, loved the great choice of wool by Jodie, the cute homemade choc chip shortbread were great and the tea is very special.  So glad I joined this club.  

What to make this month?  I wasn't keen on any of the suggested projects so I found may own on Ravelry.  Sunset Shawlette by Tamara Kelly, another freebie.  This wool blend is a 4ply sock wool and the pattern is worked using a 5mm hook so this project is working up very fast.  I have done a lot more while we were away last week, will show you the finished project very soon.  The colour of the yarn is most like the boxed hank, the worked photo is too green, poor lighting at night on my lap.  

Also had time to whip this cowl up.  Bought a ball of Noro a my local yarn store and used almost every inch.  Might write the pattern up so you can make one too.  Never written a crochet pattern yet but I did write notes while I worked so maybe I can do it.  This washed up so soft and I've worn it half a dozen times already.  

Easter is over for another year

The Easter break is finished and the weather has been glorious!  Beautiful sunny days and nice cool nights perfect for sleeping.  I have always loved the beach and no day is complete for me without a stroll along one of the three beaches just outside my front gate.  That stripey velour towel is regularly taken down to the beach, but you'd never guess it must be about 30 plus years old!  I'm just 16 years old in that photo at Te Araroa in the North Island of New Zealand.  My mum brought down an old family photo album last week so Dear Husband and I could look at the South Island trip my family took way back in the early 1980's, I'll share some of the photos in another post.  At the back of the album was a summer holiday trip our family shared with a number of other kiwi families travelling around the east cape of the North Island in our Model A Fords, a camping holiday, great memories.  I wish I still looked as good as the towel still does!

Dear Husband has worked most of the Easter break but he did have last Thursday off and we headed south in search of great fish and chips and we found them at Bermagui right at the wharves where the fishing trawlers dock.  Yum, nothing better than fresh fish from the sea. 

We also stopped at the Dowry popup shop at Moruya Books.  What a visual feast of colour and texture.  Always love the collection Fleur and her mum Christine pull together.  I bought this little crochet birdie because it just called to me and it is made by a friend I have met through my blog.  Lee lives in Queensland and we have only had contact via the web but we are kindred spirits in our crafting and broken old china collecting, one day we will meet I'm sure.  

This might sound really strange but occasionally when I drive into town and pass near a thrift store I feel that I have to stop and go in, as if there is something telling me there is a Liberty Tana lawn shirt within.  Last week once again I felt that tug and there it was not even on the shirt rack but weirdly amongst the dresses this gorgeous shirt in great condition and a print that I don't have in my big collection (well over 20 now).  It really is time I settled on a design and get to work creating my Liberty quilt.  

The nights have really cooled off and it's time for two quilts on our bed, they are so cosy and warm.  We never use blankets, there are so many quilts in this house you would never go cold!

More crocheting, this time cotton coasters for our little Kindrawares shop.  I've made a few sets now, time to find some new Bendigo double knitting, 8ply knitting cotton colours, starting to exhaust my supply.  

I think this thrifted laminated bamboo apple bowl will be great on the counter at our little shop, filled with wonderful handmade wooden jewellery.  Couldn't resist it last week!

Time to go and get into my sewing room and do some alterations.  The local surgeon I work with thinks I have nothing better to do than shorten his pants whenever he goes on a shopping spree........which is often.  I'm not sure why he thinks I would enjoy that sort of sewing! 

Starting to find my creative mojo again..........very happy about that!

I bought a new book last week and it has so many great small projects.  I've started with this small buttoned pouch with a hand crocheted flap.  I did it all by myself!  I can actually read a crochet pattern fairly easily now and it makes sense!  Hooray!  I plan to use vintage linen scraps to make the pouch.  Stay tuned for completed project photos.  Book available at Steph's Fabrics in Moruya.  

These are my felted slippers that I made way back in May 2010, they have served me well but in the last week or so I found they were threadbare in three places on the sole.  As the tops were still in great as new condition and my inability to locate the pattern I have got out my grandmothers sock darning mushroom and set to work.  See the freckly patches, I also couldn't find the matching wool so used a darker shade of the same brand and wove horizontal and vertical threads and then chucked them in a good hot soapy wash and felted them up again.  They now 'like new', I'm sure they'll last a few more seasons, maybe by then I will have found my pattern!  

This is my project that I've been plodding along with, since late January.  I took it to New Zealand as their are only two rows to remember.  I bought 150g of this Australian Wangaratta Woollen Mills 3ply laceweight pure wool on a cone at a thrift store for $1.50.  I had no idea how far it would go but a triangular shawl/scarf just keeps growing, I've used almost 100g now so about a third of the way to go.  I just have to decide when enough is enough and then do the border design and hopefully not run out of wool.  This pattern is called South Bay Shawlette and it's a free one from Lion Brand, available on Ravelry.  It can be crocheted out of any sort of yarn you have and is a really easy pattern to read and decipher, there are both row by row written instructions and a great diagrammatic pattern which I find the easiest to follow.

Vintage linen applique collage

Anyone who knows me, knows I love embroidery and I especially love vintage linen with hand embroidery.  I always wonder who sat and stitched all those perfect little stitches.  Did they love stitching as much as I do?  Did it bring them joy and peace or was it something that caused them no end of stress!  

But what do you do when you find a whole lot of vintage linen pieces that are worn, stained, holey and unraveling?  Chop them up of course!  I decided to make some felt backed notebook covers and bookmarks.  

It was so much fun just applying Vliesofix to all the pieces then cutting them up into rectangles and squares and then just fiddling with the layout until I was happy.  I don't muck around too much, I just go with my gut instinct, when I like something I know it immediately.  

I have a great little blanket stitch on my Bernina and a nice open toe foot so I can see what I'm doing.  So quick and effective.  A pinking blade on my rotary cutter made trimming the felt so simple.  I want to make more of these.  Love just winging it in my sewing room.  

Even tiniest scraps can be used.  I hate wasting anything!  How could anyone throw out gorgeous hand embroidery seriously?  

Spring is nearly here.................

...............very wishful thinking on my behalf.  I really don't like winter at all and I am simply trying to make myself feel better.  Today was the first real wintery day, we had rain, hail and gusty cold wind interspersed with some really lovely sunshine in downtown Coolamon.  

This little lot of potted colour were looking so good at home I decided to take them over to our little shop for a visit.  I collected various old bits of pottery at thrift stores and then planted them up with a couple of punnets of flowering plants and in a few weeks this what has developed.  I'll be repeating this project again, it's turned out beautifully.  

An upcycled sewing project

I found this large woollen dressing gown last week and thought I could make it into something cozy for a certain friend of mine.

Not much left after I had cut out all the pieces and I was pretty sure I'd try and use the collar too.

I cut carefully and retained some original features

Done!  I added another layer of wool through the mid section for extra warmth.

Pockets for her toys!

Lined with polar fleece.  I had to add extra velcro as my model wasn't very co-operative when I was taking her tummy measurements!

She could look a  little more pleased about her new winter dressing gown coat!  A very uneasy model.  She'll be glad to wear it when the thermometer drops to zero very soon.  I wanted it to be like her favourite checked blanket but much easier for her to keep in place out in her bed at night.

Last night she was still unsure about her new coat but she seemed to know that it was warm.

It's raining............really heavy!

Having moved from the coast where the average rainfall is around 38" (960mm) per year to inland Australia 500km from the the coast to a place where the average annual rainfall is only 16" (400mm) you can understand why I have taken photos of the first proper rain since I moved here.  I had to relocate my new little potted garden to our outdoor kitchen bench or I'm sure they would have floated away.  I did find one little pottery mug today which was 50 cents and has the makers name Possum on the bottom.  I wonder who possum is?  When the rain stops I'm going to have to go out and empty some water from the pool so the filter and skimmer can do it's stuff.  Perfect weather for knitting indoors this afternoon.  Ruby and the old puss think so too!