Monday, December 21, 2009

Indi's Quilt Finished!





Here is India's finished cot quilt - ready to be wrapped and put under the tree. I am so far behind on the things that I wanted to get made for Christmas, don't know if I will get there.... keep getting orders for lunch sacks which has been taking up my time, that and watching Twilight a gasilion times, Oh Edward... need to focus!!! Happy about the lunch sacks though, I have another 7 different Oilcloths that I have just received so hopefully I will make them up in the next day or so and then get them loaded too. Hope to be back with more updates soon, till then x

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Featured in an ETSY treasury!


I have been featured! Very exciting, it was one of my cocoons and you can view it here

Friday, December 11, 2009

This is what I am working on....



This is part of India's Christmas presents, It is a quilt for her cot - wonder if it will be finished in time? Considering all the other things I am working on at the moment, I have no clue if it will or not. Don't think she will know, but I will...

Also been working on some new stock for my shops, should be available over the weekend, just getting a few more fabric options made up. (I am going to start selling Baby Quilts as well, once Christmas is over I will concentrate on that)


Time to go to bed and read my book, Night xx

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Don't Look Now Workshop



So this past weekend was spent at Hetties Patch with a bunch of lovely ladies attending a workshop hosted by the very friendly and super talented Kellie Wulfsohn of Don't Look Now. I went into the workshop with much trepidation wondering whether I was completely out of my depth in both my own abilities as well as my sewing machines ability! But I am happy to report that I was certainly up to scratch and the old machine made it through as well, (although I now have my eye on a sparkling new Bernina 440 QE, oh please Santa I have been really good!!!), I think Kellie felt like she had stepped back into the dark ages when she sat down at my machine to demonstrate something, and the visibility when doing the free motion wasn't the greatest, so we turned my machine on the side so as to try and get better visibility - very unconventional! The whole process of working on the project was so relaxing and I was amazed at just how much I can get done when I don't have 3 babes wanting my attention as well. I was very happy with the progress on day one, and think I did pretty well. Lorraine had the shop open and available to us the whole weekend which proved to be very tempting, and so convenient to be able to just walk in and grab that perfect print or the exact shade of thread, I think I am obsessed with fabric at the moment and may have to start attending Fabric Buyers Anonymous!!

Kellie had most of her quilts and cushions and wall hangings available to us, and it was so great to see everything up close, she really has done some fantastic work and I can't wait to get started on some of her patterns now that I know I can actually do it! I am going to try and do the Monster Quilt for Oscar, but I will use the blues, greens and browns that I bought awhile ago in it, so it will be my take on her design.
I also can't wait to start on a few other of her projects, and I am looking forward to her releasing the new Christmas wreath design that she unveiled on the weekend.
On my own little project - The first day of Christmas, which was a partridge in a pear tree theme, I got all the applique work done on the first day and then did lots of practicing on the free motion quilting on day two and did a bit of "reverse stitching" when the old machine decided to have a few tension issues! So I completed the quilting yesterday and I am pretty happy with how it has turned out. Now I just have to decide whether I make it into a cushion cover or whether I frame it or something - decisions, decisions!
Made a few little purchases while I was there which will all pretty much go into some of the patterns that I want to make up, and a few others that I want to use on the back of another quilt that I have in my head.
So all in all it was a great weekend, learnt heaps, met some lovely ladies, Got lots of goodies - thank you Lorraine and Leanne for making the bags and badges, enjoyed some lovely food and heavenly cheesecake! (not good for the diet!), got loads of great advice about machines and technique etc, and of course got to meet Kellie! She is very inspiring and if you get the chance you should definitely try and make it to one of her workshops. I think I will definitely be coming again next time she is back in Adelaide.

A catch up

So I feel like it has been a while since I have had a good catch up on here so I thought now was as good a time as any. A while ago I blogged about the DQS7 that I was involved in, well I sent off my little quilt to Rachel in Ohio, and then I waited and waited and nothing came back to me :( so the lovely organisers got a lovely local lady - Amanda to send me an angel quilt, and then about a month or so after that I received my original quilt from Stephanie, so really I was twice as lucky because I got 2 beautiful quilts to admire. Both ladies also sent me so lovely goodies so I was right royally spoilt.
Around the same time I also started on a quilt top, using the yellowy, pinky tones from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks range. I also have another to make using her other colour palette - more blues and greens, I have gotten a bit side tracked on this project though so I will have to get back to that again soon.
The kids experienced a babysitter for the very first time, and they were fine with the whole experience, so I think we will be doing it more regularly - except for the fact that it costs and arm and a leg for a babysitter these days - whatever happened to the days of the $7/hour babysitter? Anyway, we went to the Pearl jam concert and it was well the worth the $120 for the babysitting. Paul and I were transported back to our youth and it was a fabulous concert as usual and just incase you were wondering Eddie has still got it!
India and I headed back to Brisbane for a quick visit last week, just 3 nights as my Grandma who hasn't been particularly well was over here on a visit with my Aunt and Uncle on the Sunshine Coast, so I really wanted to get back and spend a bit of time with her and introduce India to them. It was lovely to be back around family - it was also the first time in a while that both my sisters and I and Mum and Dad have been together, so it was good to all see each other at the same time.

Got to catch up with a few Brissy friends as well, and then got to fly home on the friday night in time for my Workshop with Kellie from Don't Look Now on the weekend. Also picked up my sewing machine on the way home from the airport at about 10:30pm, I had put it in to be serviced about 10 days prior and it was meant to be ready well before then, but nothing like leaving things to the last minute. The Course was FABULOUS, but I will post about that separately.

Now the count down is on till Christmas - my god only 3 weeks to go! (Still need to lose another 4 kgs to reach my first weight loss goal of 10kg by Christmas, fingers crossed.) I am very unprepared, but considering that Christmas will be just us this year, I don't really feel like I need to be too organised. I have started to make some presents for Stella's Kindy teachers and I am trying to go Handmade with most of my other gifts this year too. I may have even found a few things that I might start adding to my EdanRose range, so I will be sure to let you know when that happens. I am dreading next week when Kindy finishes and I have all 3 of them all day every day, I will have to have the Rescue Remedy close on hand!

Ok, will be back soon with the Workshop Post.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Kreativ Blogger Award

kreativ-blog.jpg
I was surprised to see in my inbox when I returned from Brisbane on Friday Night (more on that later) an email from Christine of Little Diva, giving me a Kreativ Blogger Award, so thanks Chris, it is nice to know that someone is reading out there in the big bloggy world.

So this is what I have to do:

  1. Copy picture and post on your blog
  2. Thank the person who gave it to you and link to their blog
  3. Write 7 things about yourself we don't know
  4. Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to and
  5. Link to those 7 other bloggers
So 7 things that you don't know about me:

  1. So far my occupations have included: Working at Wendys, Store Manager of Laura Ashley and various other retail positions , Florist, Travel Consultant (which is where I meet and worked with Christine), Weekend Receptionist at a Hotel, Mummy and now Chief Creator for EdanRose
  2. I recently found out that I have another sibling courtesy of my Father's wild teenage years
  3. I would love to have my own fabric shop, preferably online to begin with, as I am currently addicted to buying fabrics, which is fine, except that I never want to cut into them! Have started the ball rolling in this area, but will just wait and see what the future holds
  4. Have been suffering from that D word since we have been down in Adelaide, I don't like to say that it is Post Natal, as I feel, that it has nothing to do with Indi and that she is a little light in my life, and I like to blame it more on situation, and lack of support(not Paul, he is very supportive) just in general when you are isolated. But getting help and know things will get better
  5. Only got my license when I was 30, I know, how did I survive without it? Well I had a personal chauffeur for the previous 10 years - Paul, he drove me every where. So glad I have it now though!
  6. Hate being fat! And doing my best to change that - 6 kgs in 5 weeks and counting...
  7. Have had 3 kids in 3 different states, Stella in NSW, Oscar in QLD and India in SA, generally it works that I get pregnant and then Paul gets a promotion that leads us interstate, hmm guess if I want to get out of SA I know what I have to do...

Now the 7 Bloggers that I choose are:


So go chck out these fabulous blogs and I will be back soon, I have a list of bloggy things that I need to catch up on....

Stella's Dancing Concert




Well last Sunday night was the big dancing concert and might I just say Stella was so fantastic! She was in 5 different acts which surprised me as I thought she was only in 3, and she was one of the best in her age group. She found us in the crowd wholst making her first appearance and proceeded to blow us 4 kisses at the end of her routine before exiting the stage. This got a good cheer from the crowd and also melted Mummy and Daddy's hearts! I was so proud of her to be able to remember all of the routines and was able to keep it together in what was a long show, and was a very late night for a 4 year old (10:45pm was when we got home - why oh why do these things need to be at night!). I was also pretty happy with the outcome of the 3 costumes, although having an overlocker would have made the process of sewing with lycra so much easier - thankfully Mum has said that I can have her overlocker, so I am pretty excited about that. I have a couple of shots to show you, but nothing of the actual show as due to child protection laws you weren't allowed to take photos on the night. I now understand what all the hoopla was about leading up to the concert and now I understand why it is important for the dancers to have their night of nights, and at least now I know what is involved and I will no what to expect next year. Well done my little Stellsy!
(Just realised I don't even have any pics of the white tutu, so I will have to scan one of the professional pics and post it later...)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Quilt and Craft Fair


I am only about 3 weeks late with this post, but nevertheless here it is.

I attended this fair and that is probably how I would describe it - Fair. Not fantastic, not totally pointless, but not quite sure if it was worth the $14 entry fee.

Did manage to purchase a few goodies, but there were not as many designer fabrics as I would have liked, and was hoping for a bit more variety. Guess I have been lusting over all the pics that people put up of the Syd/Mel Stitches and Craft shows and hoped it would have been somewhere near that kind of standard. Good news is that S&C is coming to "Radelaide" so there is hope yet.

Picked up some Kaffe Fassett, Kokka and some Echino fabrics, some ric racs, and some supplies for my class with Kellie from Don't Look now! that I have this weekend coming. I am feeling quite out of my depth about this class, but I hope I can just muddle through! I saw photos from the first class last month and it looked as though everyone had the latest sewing machines and they all looked very professional, so I am thinking I might feel rather inadequate when I turn up with my 20-30 year old Elna, and not really a clue as to what I am doing. Hopefully it won't be that bad and I will learn loads, which is all I am really hoping for.

Monday, November 9, 2009

A Catch Up

Haven't posted for a while, I am just so slack, get so caught up in reading that I never end up writing, so I thought I would just do a bit of a catch up of the last little while. Everyone has been sick which is horrible especially when it has been so hot here in Adelaide, and is meant to be a consistent 37∘c all week - yuk! especially when the air-conditioner is not working the the agent/owner has now taken over 6 weeks to replace it(apparently it is happening this week - yeah right, with this weather I doubt it will get done as every man and his dog will be wanting air-conditioning installed now!).
Other than that nothing much else has been happening,
this is our haul from a recent trip to our farmers market,
the kids had their first dip in the ocean - which I might add was at 6:00pm seen as though it was way too hot before then. (N.B The Hannah Montana board was not by choice it was just in the clearence bin at Big Dubs for $5.00 so we thought it would do for now.)
(Even Indy got in on the action! How cute in these little toggies!)

I started a diet (will let you know how that goes!), had a visit from FIL- nothing much more to say on that one, and all my sewing time has been taken up sewing dancing costumes for Stella's upcoming Dancing concert - might I just add I hate sewing lycra! especially when I don't have an overlocker. Will post some pics of the final product once they are all done. So that is pretty much all the news, I went to the Quilt and Craft Fair on the weekend so I will post some pics of some goodies I got later.

Friday, November 6, 2009

My Place and Yours :: Blog HQ


Well I thought I had better post this weeks theme, before tomorrow when there will be a new theme! So here it is - my Blog HQ. If you want to check out others head over here...

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Browns Owls





Well I really wanted to find something to do for myself and seen as though I am very into all things crafty and handmade at the moment, and I really wanted to make connections with other people also with the same interests so I have joined the Adelaide chapter of the Brown Owls. It is a craft group first set up in Melbourne by Pip from Meetmeatmikes and is now all over Australia. I have been to 3 meetings so far and it has been heaps of fun, and great to get out of my current, less effective headspace and join in some crafty goodness and some adult conversation! So far I have been shown the basics of crochet (Thanks Tracey), and at the Mitcham meeting I learnt to make an Origami Secret Gift card,

and last night we made these funky little Owl Brooches,
I am pretty pleased how mine turned out. So looking forward to attending more Brown Owls (just wish it wasn't an hour drive to get there!
My beautiful Oscar modelling the brooch (the girls were either asleep or at Kindy)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

::My Place & Yours :: - Bedside Table


This weeks theme is Bedside Table, so this is mine this afternoon, on it is:
  • Books, some reading, some unread, some re-read many times, some baby/kids ones that are referred to all the time, mags of course
  • Some photos of the fam, must update now that India is here
  • Hand cream and purfume
  • Notebooks, keys and pandora bracelets taken off and left there
  • Hair ties that come out last thing before sleep
  • and of course an alarm clock, too big for my liking but it does have a cd player, lamp
  • and the a phone, because we have a really long house and I hardly ever make it all the way to the other end of the house when it rings, and when there are sleeping babies I want it answered straight away!
So this is fun and you should play along and check out lots of other peoples places here

Monday, October 19, 2009

Handmade Kids Clever People Challenge Feature



You might remember I posted about the Handmade Kids Clever People Challenge that I participated in, well it is now featured on the Handmade Kids Website, and very soon you could have a chance at winning some of the creations, and there are some really clever things. Go and check it out...

Sunday, October 18, 2009

::My Place & Yours ::


Pip over at Meet me at Mikes has started a new meme and this weeks theme is On The Shelf, so here is what Stella's top shelf looked like today. What is on your shelf? Join in...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Lazy Days Skirt Sew-A-Long



Always one to participate in something- usually when I have no time or motivation, I have joined this weeks Sew-A-Long on Melissa's Blog. All I had to do was make a Lazy Days Skirt from Oliver + s (here is a link to the free tutorial). It is SUPER easy and you can literally whip it up in about half an hour. It's also a good one to add to and personalize it a bit which I have done with mine. Stella of course didn't want to take it off and she has worn it to Kindy today with leggings underneath seen as though it is a bit summery and certainly not warm enough for this icy Adelaide weather we have been having. I think i will probably make another one before the week is out because it was fun and probably good for my mental health! Give it a go.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009

New Cocoon Shots






Awhile ago I approached a bunch of photographers about taking some shots for me using my cocoons during their newborn photo shoots and I have started to get some of the photos back and I thought I would share some absolutely beautiful ones from Sally Crunk.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Could I have improved on the "Stepford Kingston"?

(image via stepford dreams)

So, back in August, Carolyn blogged about her new Kingston Invention which I just had to try cause it looked amazing and ever since Hubby and I have been hooked! Not great at all for the waistline or the diet but somethings you just have to try. Anyway, tonight I thought maybe just maybe I could improve on it - if that is possible. Paul said he thought it was pretty damn good and I agree. It is more of a dessert take on the kingston, and all you have to do is mix some nutella through some vanilla ice-cream, till it is slightly soft and then spoon into a bowl and crumble up some Anzac biscuit over the top. YUM! Now of course it is not probably what you will put on your next dinner party menu, but for a snuggle up in the couch in front of MasterChef it does the trick. Go on try it and let me know what you think.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Handmade Kids Clever People Challenge






So back in August I was selected to take part in the Handmade Kids Clever People Challenge, and I received a bag of goodies to do with whatever I pleased. I got a remnant of white Minkee, A FQ of Michael Miller's Lively Letters, 3 pieces of ribbon and 2 buttons. I had an idea in my head for a little while and then the night that I started making it I totally changed my mind. So this is what I came up with... It is a Newborn Set comprising a totally cute pair of Ruffle Pants (courtesy of a Bettsy Kingston pattern), a matching singlet and a taggie mini blanket toy. I think it has turned out well and I can't wait to make more of the pants - might be onto a winner there, so expect to see a few more popping up here and there, would be good to have an overlocker though, oh well one day. Of course I had to get my little model to take everything for a test run so that I knew what it all looked like, and I think it looked pretty darn cute! Don't you agree... this girl deserves some ruffle pants of her own!