Friday, July 29, 2011

Favourites

My favourite thing this week was spending an afternoon with the Mother indulging in a little sweet delight.
I can't show you the yummies we had yesterday as I am experiencing a technical tantrum - you know how it is one bit refuses to play nice with the other bit.
These photo's are from a couple of years ago but you get the idea.
A delicious High Tea for two was devoured in a very leisurely fashion - think hours.
Lovely!
If you want to see some other favourites go check out who is playing here.
There was a little crochet on the go yesterday too.
Wishing you a restful and creative weekend.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Catty done

There has been some activity in the sewing room.

The cat projects are complete and were delivered to the Mother today.

One phone pouch and the Mother put her phone in there immediately - perfect.

The bag is from the pattern in Simple Pleasures by the talented Anni Downs with Mistea modifications of course.

The big Cat stitchery makes a pocket on the front and there is a pocket on one side.

I didn't put any internal pockets but I did include a swivel hook to keep the keys from falling to the bottom of the bag - forgot to photograph the inside.

My new green vest is done and I wore that today with a little button closure - it is not fixed and may be changed as out in the daylight it was not the right green colour.

Perfect for a little celebratory outing with the Mother.

The yarn is 'Alice' an acrylic and wool blend from Spotlight and the pattern is a free one from Lion Brand.

Below is a close up to show the pattern.

It has been a productive week in the craft room - Perfect.

Hope you have had some time in your craft space this week too.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Pressies for me

I won again!

(I know there has been a lot of that going on lately)

This time it was the June OPAM monthly draw and look what pretties turned up in my mail box late last week.

Love the red polka dots and that is just the wrapping paper.

That card is just the cutest.

Inside there was this super cute shopping list - now I can tell by the pics on it that it is a shopping list for fun stuff only!

Under that there is this super pattern and kit for some bears from the talented Toni over at The Red Boot Quilt Co. Everything is there except the stuffing and there is sure to be some of that in 'the warehouse' somewhere.

How cute are they?

Look buttons too.

Now Kris did mention that these might show up on my OPAM list?

You'll have to wait and see on that one.

Thanks to Kris and Peg for being amazing OPAM Team leaders.

Hope you are warm and dry where ever you are today.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

In the craft room...

definitely a PJ day here as the weather was not suitable for outside activities.

I made some progress with the cat projects - after cutting all the fabric in the right shapes and sizes. I succeeded in attaching the pocket to the front of the bag and sewing the outer bag pieces together. I feel like I am almost done!

The pouch pieces are still waiting to be sewn but they are all cut out.

A large portion of the day was spent on the couch with my new hooky project.

I know you can't see it very well here but I have made good progress and it is even the right shape and everything so far. The yarn is a super soft Acrylic/wool blend in a pretty green colour.

Not sure about the plastic crochet hook though - when did they change? All my others are old and they are metal, it actually feels like you are holding onto something when working with them.
Will be looking for a more solid alternative as I didn't buy just one new lot of yarn yesterday, how could I when it was on special?
Playing along in Pyjama party Sunday over here.
Hope your weekend was a creative one.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

A little stitching...

I started out by gathering some supplies.

A girl's gotta have a little sustenance for serious creative activities - Right.

I finished off the little cat stitchery and,

gathered some fabrics for a little bag making.

Then I curled up on the couch and indulged in a little hooky activity.
Green hat started at Tuesday craft group and worked on at NCB is now finished.

More of the red crochet. I started the second piece on Thursday, it is growing really quickly.

I used some leftover white yarn to try out a pattern and today I went to Spotlight for some yarn to make the real thing. I could have a big whine about not being able to find the colour that I thought I needed, but I got something pretty anyway. May just have to replan my outfit around the new colour.

Thanks to Heidi for hosting Friday night Sew in even if I did get distracted from my sewing projects by the crochet ones.

Hope your Saturday is filled with creative moments.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Winter sunshine

My favourite thing this week is winter sunshine.
What a difference a day makes - yesterday was overcast and dull for most of the day and today I was greeted with blue sky and sunshine.
When the sun is shining outside I like to be out there and winter sunshine is perfect for wandering around checking out the sights.
Up early today and look what I saw.
Okay is that a better picture - they move fairly fast even without a lot of wind.
This one was closer to the landing field and was just above the roof tops when I passed it.
It would have been a perfect morning for floating over the city checking out the sights.
The following were taken earlier this month in the parks and gardens which are right next to the city in Melbourne.
Difficult to photograph from the street but this is the floral clock which is replanted regularly with pretty flowers in interesting designs.

An Hellenic monument.

One of the interesting old buildings near the entrance to Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens.

There is no information on this building except the no 1899 - looking good for something so old.

Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance -a rather grand structure.

The Friendship fountain with water flowing - something that was not happening during the drought. All the rain earlier in the year means that this area is once again green and the fountains are bubbling nicely.

Perfect stroll in the winter sunshine.

To see who else is playing favourites run on over to Mrs Pyjamas.

Tonight is Friday Night Sew In hosted by Heidi and Bobbi - thanks ladies I'm almost organised and hoping for some serious sewing action tonight. It's been a while.

Hope your Friday is Fantastic.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Picnic time

Hi there. Geoffrey here - mum said I could tell you about the picnic today.

While mum had a nice hot coffee - I went exploring in the park by the water.

There was this really cool thing to climb on. I just had to get up to inspect it closer.

Who put all those big bolts in there? This structure is mostly metal and looks very old.

I wonder why they need it here by the water.

Holding on tight while I climb across this bit, it's a long way down for a little bear like me.

I see now why they need this here by the water. It is to protect the city which is just over there.

Another rather cool grey day here but we had fun out exploring this morning anyway.

Hope you can join the picnic today, we'd love to see what you get to explore.

Edit:

OOoops - apparently there has been a change in the picnic schedule so we won't be joined by the others today. Just when we got a bit organised too.

Hope your day was a good one where ever you are.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Slowly

Taking things slowly yesterday I sat with stitching in hand and got quite excited when I thought this was finished - but a quick look at the pattern pic reminded me my cat is missing something/s.

Oh, yeah that would be the whiskers -everybody knows cats need whiskers.

All done.

Then I started this mini version - which is the actual size for the Simple Pleasures quilt the design fits within a 2&1/2 inch square - yep titchy and requiring lots of concentration on this pretty fabric.

Coming along nicely so far.

I didn't mean too, but while I was out today gathering some essentials I found this yarn which is perfect for trying out a new design - if I am successful I will even use it.

The colour is more red than orange and yes it is bright unlike today which was quite dull.

You know how it is just had to make a start - no point putting it in the cupboard where I'll never see it again! I really didn't have enough of anything in the warehouse to give this design a go.

I'm hoping it grows quickly because it could be very useful.

Have a wonderful Tuesday - I hope it is happy and bright.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Double duty

Lots of things happening around these parts these past few days, a bit of a shock after my recent inactivity.

So yesterday while I was waiting and waiting to submit some paperwork I started the requested mittens from the yarn I showed a few days ago - the colour is more true in previous post.

Well as I was in the neighbourhood I called in on some excolleagues and while I was there catching up on all the office gossip, I kept my hands busy. Ok so I can talk a lot in real life too, and by the time I left the office one of the Mitts was as good as done.

I made the matching one in the evening ready to be delivered to their new owner this week.

Today I had an all day training session - big yawn!!

To keep myself awake in the morning, (unlike my colleague next to me who took a nice nap) I kept my hands busy and got this little number done.

Yes, it is miniature - a baby sized crocheted beanie.

As you can see I had yarn leftover and as I finished before the lunch break I was thinking I should have made it bigger.

The yarn is very pretty and not plain white at all but with subtle shades of pink, blue, lemon and purple, it also has a sparly thread through it. No clue as to its identity as it came in a mixed bag none of which have labels attached.

Fortunately the afternoon session required some activity on our part so I managed to stay awake.
So as you see I have been doing double duty - hope I can continue this pace in the coming weeks.
Have a creative Sunday in your part of the world and Stay Warm.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Favourites

I visited the Hottie Exhibition again yesterday with The Mother, as there were only a few people there this time it was easy to take a closer look at some of the amazing creations and take a few photos.

Here are some of my favourites...

Yes, I included my entry, she sure is keeping excellent company.

Just a few of the 100 plus entries all as individual as their creative makers and all truly amazing.
If you are in Melbourne the Hotties will be on show until July 24th, it really is worth a visit.
Playing Favourites with Mrs P today so pop on over and see what other favourite things are on show.
Hope the sun is shining on your world today.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Catty

This pretty yarn came to my house yesterday with a request to make a pair of mittens for a crafty friend. A lovely soft Merino yarn which will be very nice to work with.

Guess that isn't catty at all - but do you see something else in the picture above?

Inspired by this little kitten hanging out in the garden.

I decided to stitch this kitten on this pretty fabric with a soft vine print.

Cat from Anni Downs book Simple Pleasures. This little book contains a number of stitch designs and little projects with instructions to increase the design size for some. I decided this one would look good on the bag featured in the book.

Having fun with needle and thread.

Hope this week is productive in your craft space too.