My Place & Yours Blog HQ

My blogging happens in two places, the kitchen table and... at work (during lunch breaks of course!).

A photo of work would hardly be interesting so I thought I'd post a photo of the kitchen table. I wish it were as pretty as some of the other blog HQs I've looked at today. Mine is more a practical space.
There are a few interesting things on the table, snippets of current projects:

The pattern for the owl softie I'm going to make for Mirabel
The next Ruby Doll for a friends daughter (also called Ruby)
The 2 letters I received as part of the MMAM Penpal swap
The first 2 mattresses for my Princess and the Pea crochet project for Knitting Nancys

Actually - considering the photo wasn't set up it's a cute little picture - just bad lighting.. sorry...

See other Blog HQs hosted at Pips. Thanks to Ninon for the theme.

'I have to have that dress'

Last week while shopping in town with MrG I found the most beautiful Ted Baker dress... You know one of those 'I have to have that dress' moments. Sometimes those moments are followed with disappointment because the dress doesn't look quite as amazing on as it did on the rack.

This however is a happy story - MrGs eyes lit up when I walked out of the change room.

My $100 bonus from work for 3 years service paid for 1/4 of the dress but it was worth every cent.

Now I just need to convince MrG that a dress this pretty needs to be taken to lunch!

Wearing Art

I went shopping after the gallery visit with Cherry today - and oh my - i just had to share my new shoes - they are little works of art - fabric on the outside - leather lined - leather edging and leather button - so beautiful and delicate I think I just want to display them - but no they are shoes - now i just need to make a new outfit for them !!!!!!!

John Brack

Mum and I spent lunchtime at the art gallery today. We went to see the John Brack exhibition. It was wonderful.

Below are two of my favourites.

Latin American grand final, 1969 was stunning. The floor looks so polished. I love that you can see the dancers toe tucked behind her leg and then happy smiling faces. Plus oh the colours... so beautiful!
The new house, 1953 gives off such a warm happy feeling. You can’t see from the picture but the wife has stars in her eyes. They look so in love. Mum and I talked about why the time on the clock is 1:30. Has her love come home for lunch? Surely it isn’t the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps it’s a Sunday and they are home from Church? That might explain the suit.

Mum was sweet and bought me the book that went with the exhibition. I’m really looking forward to looking at all the paintings all over again.

Christmas shopping... (already)

I started my Christmas shopping today. Ordered 2 Frankie 2010 calendars. To be totally honest one is for me... but the other one will be a gift. Haven't decided who yet but they are so lovely that I'm sure I'll wish I'd bought more.


I'm also thinking about buying the Frankie afternoon tea book too for a present. Anyone own it that can recommend recipes?

My Creative Space:: A Busy Place

There has been quite a bit of creating going on in the past few days. Firstly I made 2 more pairs of shoes for my niece.

They arrived in Sydney today and my sister in law was thrilled!

The weather is finally warming up so I thought I’d take my latest Ruby doll outside for a photo shoot.

She’s a present for my little friend Hollie. I work with Hollie’s dad and every now and again when Hollie rings her Dad at work she asks to speak to me – it’s so cute! Plus much nicer than some of the phone calls I get at work.

Yes - I've been baking - I just love cupcakes with pink icing and smarties - Who doesn't!

My lesson learnt with these though is not to try and do three jobs while waiting for cakes that take 10 minutes... I rushed stuffing Hollie's doll (had to restuff it later) and over cooked the first batch, then having NOT learnt my lesson I tried to figure out how to connect the fertilizer to the hose while burning the second batch. Nothing pink icing can't cover... extra icing that is!

Note Peter Alexander slippers in shot.. so pretty

See more creative spaces over at Kirsty

Mum's Home!

Mum's home! I'm so excited!

She came with gifts too - some beautiful fabric and a lovely owl brooch - from the Canberra Bus Depot Market - She's the best!

Love you Mum x

Tilt/Shift

First I learnt about picnik via Tracey and now MrG has just shown me TiltShift - oh dear... I could loose HOURS playing with these picture tweekers.

Here's my second attempt at TiltShift - mini Bangkok traffic! Off to find some more photos...

Our chooks

I'm so excited, Mum arrives tomorrow and Dad arrives on Thursday! Will be wonderful to have them back for a few days.

These chooks live in Mum and Dad's kitchen. Mum and I found them in an op shop while looking for vases for my wedding. We bought them for Dad as a reminder of the chooks they had at their old place.

The painting in the background is one of Mum's. She's very talented x

Little kimono shoes

Yesterday I made these little shoes for my niece. I'm totally thrilled with them! They were super easy (free pattern here). Now I keep looking at my stash and planning more pairs.

Have you seen the finished Quilt Project - It's fantastic and I'm super proud to have been part of it. You can see all the finished squares over at the Quilt Project Blog. A HUGE thanks to Kirsty for allowing us all to participate and for all the hard work she's put in to creating the quilt - Thanks so much x

My Place & Yours :: Bedside

Pip's hosting 'My place & yours' and this weeks theme choosen by Pottymouthmama is Bedside. Here is mine. Yes - there is a lot of books... Of the pile there I'm half way through:

• Jane Eyre
• The Ringmasters Daughter
• New of a Kidnapping
• Chasing Harry Winston
• The Partisan's Daughter
• Alex Kava (3 books in one - I've read 1 1/2)

Why have I started so many? Good question - I guess it depends how much hold a book has on me. I don't tend to be very loyal when it comes to reading but of the list above I do want to finish all of them - someday. Hmm except for The Partisan's Daughter - that one doesn't seem to suit me.

I've read The Time Traveler's Wife twice (so fantastic!) and always enjoy Tess Gerritsen medical thrillers (see Harvest).

The ballerina statue is from the Courtauld Gallery in London. My parents bought it for me when they came to visit MrG and I while we were living in London. She's a copy of a Degas' dancer. I was lucky enough to see the original in the gallery during our time in London - They are so very beautiful.

The two photos are MrG and I (I'm giving him a big smooch) and my parents.

Thanks for stopping by, see other Bedsides here

I secretly love maths...

Photo Credit

I'm trying to work out how much I need to enlarge the 'goodie two shoes' pattern from Meet me at Mikes to fit my niece's foot.

She's nearly grown out of the first batch I made.

So sole of original pattern is = 115.cm and the shoe - finished was 10cm

Olivia's foot is at least 9 cm so I need the finished shoe to have room to grow. The 10cm one is getting small. Lets say finished shoe needs to be 11cm

If I remember high school maths...let y be the size of the new pattern piece...

Ok - so I need to enlarge by 110% percent... I'm sure there was an easier way to work this out but... I secretly love maths!

Will let you know how the shoes go..

ps - also trying this pattern this weekend - so cute

My Little Bo Peep

This afternoon I thought I'd share with you my view when I'm lying in bed. Well not quite the view - but the picture that hangs on the wall. It's called Little Bo Peep by Elisa Mazzone and I just love it. So delicate, and pretty. Plus it's the first piece of art I've bought from an opening. I'll never get tired of looking at it.

My Creative Space

I'm a little early for my creative space but sometimes you can't pick creative moments - they pick you. Tonight I've had time to start to sew my latest Ruby Doll together.

This doll is for my little friend Hollie who turns 4 in 3 weeks.

I find this bit the hardest. When the doll is inside out there isn't much room for all the arms and legs plus pins. Tonight my plan is to pin the head, arms and side. Stitch and then position the legs and stitch again.

If anyone has any tips - I'd love to hear them.

Brown Owls

Hoot Loot - Originally loaded by boopsie.daisy

Just got back from the first meeting of the Brown Owls at the new Mitcham venue. It was a huge success. Julie and Lianne did an amazing job and have some super ideas for workshops including felted flowers (I saw the end product... WOW) and teacup pin cushions (super cute!)

It's so great to have two awesome venues for our Adelaide Brown Owls group. Next Box Factory meeting is the 28th of October.

I am really enjoying Brown Owls. Since starting the group with Tracey and Cathy in June this year we now have:

• Just over 60 members
• 2 venues
• 4 meetings a month
• So many new friends (my favourite bit)
• an endless source of inspiration and
• a Fringe Exhibition

It's the best!

A MASSIVE thanks needs to go to Pip for creating Brown Owls - thanks Pip, we couldn't have done it without you.

I love snail mail

In the mail today I received 2 parcels!

The first was from Anna. A few weeks ago Anna put out a call for a new pincushion so I took up the challenge. Anna in return sent me a lovely parcel containing a Art Clutch made from a canvas she'd painted that needed a loving home and some angles fabric from her craft kits Thanks Anna - I love it!

The second was some fabric I'd bought on ebay - I'm thrilled with it - only $5 and over a meter!

On my shelf

Pip's hosting a new meme called 'My Place & Yours'. This weeks theme is On my shelf'. Love the theme as it's given me a reason for taking some photos of the shelf in the kitchen which holds my collection of Raynham vases.

I collected them over about a year to use as the vases on the tables at our wedding. I found them in all sorts of second hand shops and antique shops plus picked up a few online too.

I did have a plan to give them away as gifts after the wedding but they have become quite special now and I'm not sure I could part with them. Gosh - I even bought one more after the wedding... I just couldn't leave it at the op shop.

I love the colours, shapes and textures, plus on the shelf they almost look like an art piece all lined up. Check out other shelves here

The garden is back

Yesterday our garden looked like a jungle. Today after a few hours of team work it's looking lovely again. Just perfect for sitting and reading in the sunshine or sharing a drink with friends.

It's even inspired MrG and I to have some friends over for a BBQ. I love entertaining the the back yard.

High Rotation

Have you seen 500 Days of Summer yet? You should - it's excellent! My favourite scene features the Hall & Oats classic You Make My Dreams.

It's been on high rotation on the iPod recently and makes me want to dance every time I hear it.

TULIPS and tulips - oh my !!!

Well Floriade was all I expected it to be and more - tulips and more tulips just beautiful - I have so many photos for creative thought my mother has set another hurdle for me to get over - going on a ferris wheel at 84 - what great fun it was !!!!! She is holding on tight to Tony or is Tony holding on tight to her ????

Look at the checker board of tulips from the ferris wheel - wow - Just like Alice in Wonderland

Who's cold? Me

Sally Morrigan's post is the inspiration behind tonights post.

Hurry up summer! I am sick of:

• Being cold all the time
• All my winter clothes (I refuse to buy more)
• Forgetting to turn on my electric blanket and getting in to a stone cold bed (Ahh!)
• Having to heat up a wheat bag to keep on my lap at work to keep from freezing (Though this is nothing to do with the weather... My office is freezing all year round)
• Eating too much (I'm always hungry if I'm cold!)

The only benefit of the extended cold - the gloves that I finally finished last night wont have to wait till next winter. Will post a photo of them tomorrow - I'm SUPER proud of them! Now I need to figure out how to write out the pattern.

My Creative Space

My creative space today is all about my niece's Christmas present. I've decided to challenge myself. I purchased onegirl's fleur playmat pattern a few weeks back and finally felt confident to pick some fabric. I'll match this stash with the collection of reds and pinks that I have in my current stash.

I'd love to be cutting it out tonight but for once I'm following the instructions and washing all the new fabric first - 'I really want this to work!' I'll post my progress as I go.

I got an email today from my sister in law asking for more shoes for Olivia too - I'm pretty excited she's asked for more as I wasn't entirely convinced the last batch was any good. An order for more has to be a good sign. Below is the last batch I made a couple of months ago.

Finally I promised the girls at Brown Owls last night that I'd post a photo of the Ruby Doll I made. Here she is with her softie family.

Check out other wonderfully creative spaces at Kirsty's place

One word for you

This evenings Blogtoberfest post is inspired by Pip who found it at Hazelnuts...via PetalPlum from Bits of Sunshine via Leah! All awesome blogs - check em out!

1. Where is your mobile phone? handbag
2. Your hair? curly
3. Your mother? crafty
4. Your father? clever
5. Your favourite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night? absent
7. Your favourite drink? peppermint (tea)
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. What room are you in? lounge (parents)
10. Your hobby? craftiness
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Adelaide
13. Where were you last night? gym
14. Something that you aren’t? short
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. Wish list item? fabric
17. Where did you grow up? Adelaide
18. Last thing you did? post
19. What are you wearing? dress
20. Your TV? massive
21. Your pet? sneaky
22. Friends? lots
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? excited
25. Missing someone? family
26. Vehicle? grubby
27. Something you’re not wearing? earrings
28. Your favorite store? lots
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Friday
32. Your best friend? tall
33. One place that I go to over and over? beanbar
34. One person who emails me regularly? MrG
35. Favorite place to eat? Mum's

A case of want vs need

Ok - I'd like to think I'm a clever girl. I understand that 'want' and 'need' are different.

Want - I want a Mimco purse.

Need - I need to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

However... when it comes to pretty/quirky/crafty/entertaining things want and need get very blurry!

Exhibit 1 - A couple of weeks ago Frankie announced their photo book. The want fairy said - wait til payday (15th of the month), the need fairy shouted but what if it sells out! The need fairy won and I'm now the proud owner of the photo book (I love it!)

Exhibit 2 - Jenny Hart released her new book Embroidered Effects. The want fairy whispers - but you are still working on your project from the last book. The want fairy 'Oh but it's a good price on amazon now - what if the price goes up.... Again the need fairy won - see here

Finally Exhibit 3 - When I first saw Placebo play in London I promised myself that I would see them again - they were... awesome! So of course... I hear today that they have been announced as part of the lineup for the Soundwave Festival. It took precisely 2 hours for me to cave in and buy a ticket to a festival that I only really want to see one band (who does that?).

Oh well - one day I'll own my own home - for the moment I'll just keep trying to save, battling wants and needs and looking at all my pretty things.

Photo borrowed from here

Some new finds

Thought I'd share some new links that have been bookmarked recently.

Knock Knock - They make super fun stationary! I especially like these - How excellent! Link discovered via Frankie newsletter

My parents were awsome tumblr- I've got pictures of my folks that I'm going to submit - I think they are awesome enough to get a spot. Also via Frankie!

Myrtle & Eunice blog - love her writing style - so honest and welcoming - esp love this post. Found via Kootoyo

Another new read for me, Chez Beeper Bebe - thanks to thrift.nest.sew for adding the link to her blog role.

Finally - a major source of crochet inspiration at Attic 24. A sample of her work from flickr is below - WOW!

After looking at her photos all I want for Christmas is yarn in all the colours of the rainbow!

My granny

Today I wanted to write a little bit about my granny. She was a very kind lady my Granny Annie. She had 6 children (!) and a lovey husband called Martin.

Granny love to knit, she was very good at it. She was also a keen card player - she taught me canasta and even let me win - sometimes. She was also in a bridge club - I wish I'd asked her to teach me that too.

Granny was a very good cook. She use to make piklets hmm yum and also bread and butter pudding! I have some recipes that are written in her hand writing - it makes them even more special. One is for Hasty Pudding, I haven't tried it yet but if it's works I'll scan it and add it to the blog.

I remember when I was little I would go and stay at her place on the weekend sometimes and it was always so much fun. We'd go food shopping and the staple treats were Venetian biscuits, lime cordial and cheese slices. At night we'd stay up and play cards and drink Milo - sublime.

I've been thinking about granny a lot today - the vase on my kitchen table is from her and it's one of my most favourite things.

x

A Busy Saturday

Today has been a busy day. It started in town at 9am with a quick look around the shops in town. I have a $100 DJ voucher from work - a reward for 3 years service. I couldn't find anything I really wanted so the voucher is back in the purse for later.

Next stop was the Bowerbird Bazaar with Tracey, Sherri and Pippa. It was fantastic! So great to see something like this in Adelaide. Fingers crossed they have more! Other Brown Owls were spotted too - Linda from Delilha Divine had a stall and Donna was amoung the happy shoppers. Below is a photo of the Delilah Divine stall where I bought the most lovely brooch.

I also couldn't help but by a necklace from Naomi - her work is just so beautiful. Even better is that she is now working her pieces is sterling silver. Beautiful!

This afternoon I cleaned up my sewing/craft room. About time MrG would say! He took a photo of me amid the chaos.The end result - 'Look Mum, It's all neat and tidy'

Embroidered Effects

Yes - another craft book, I couldn't help mylf with this one. After joining up with Kristy's Quilt Project I've been dreaming of all the things I could stitch.

Jenny Hart's latest book is a feast of simply divine stitching projects.



Just a few UFO's that need to be finished and then I'm starting the stitch sampler project from the book.

Oh - news too - I have an idea for a giveaway for Blogtober - Check in next Wednesday for details and find all the details of other Blogtober giveaways over at CurlyPops

38 years later

The last time I made a quilt I was 15 - woah - giving away my age now !!! - the squares were much larger - and I made it for a single bed - I remember trying to reserect it but the fabric actually perished - so its about time I made another - a grown up one this time - queen size, 10 cm squares - my mum is here watching me - in fact she helped unpick the first row - making sure my pattern is right and its all squared up - will show you more as it progresses.


I am putting a few little surprise fabrics in it e.g. I cut up a Rolling Stones bandana that I bought when they were on their hot licks tour - "tongues" :) - Mind you I just realised those in the fan club might think it sacriledge - oh well each to their own.