Dance for Cheese

All the fun of the fair

2010-10-11T21:34:00.000+11:00

The Junior Crafter's little school held their biennial Village Fair yesterday, and it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was an air of festivity all about the place. The Fair also incorporated the *ahem* Grand Opening of our (not quite finished and not really how we wanted it but shh don't mention the war, it's not at all PC and we may seem ungrateful) new Junior Learning Centre which was ~~overpriced~~ ~~massively behind schedule~~ ~~bungled~~ built as part of the Federal Government's Building Education Revolution. Our local federal MP put in an appearance and cut the ribbon. I'm hoping it will be completed by the time the Boy Genius commences school next February.

Anyway, back to the fair. The Bloke Who Lives At My Place organised races and games for the kiddies on the school oval, including the egg and spoon race, sack race and three legged races; some good old fashioned fun. I held the fort on the Cake Stall for the day, along with 2 other mums, and we simply couldn't keep up with demand! We had two trestle tables, which were completely covered and sold twice over, thanks to the generosity of our school community who baked and donated all the goodies which we sold.

My contribution this year was 4 dozen Anzac Cookies and two batches of my famous Chocolate Slice, a family recipe passed on to me by my cousin, who got it from our Great Auntie Jess, who I believe had it handed down from her mother (my Great Grandmother).
I'd love to share it with you of course, but I think that publishing a recipe like that on the internet would amount to some kind of sacrilege!
Hope you had a lovely cake filled weekend too :)

Wonder

2010-10-10T21:37:00.000+11:00

Image from here

You may have noticed my absence this past week. I would like to state that I have not wavered at all in my committment to Blogtoberfest. I have, however, been marooned by technology this week after we lost our phoneline and our broadband connection. Apparently the ancient copper wire connecting me with the rest of the known universe doesn't cope well with unexpected amounts of water, like, say....rain.

And I must confess, I found I don't cope well without the rest of the known universe at my fingertips.

Which got me thinking. About a time when I didn't even own a computer. Or a mobile phone. Or a GPS. And I didn't know much about the internet, and I certainly didn't access it. And I was okay with that! I got along just fine.

Back then, if I needed to write a letter, I used a pen. I remember after I left school and was applying for jobs, I wrote my resume (with a pen) and took it to a clerical services company, who typed it up for me and printed me out about 10 copies. And this wasn't in the dark ages, people, I'm not that old, this was the early '90s.

If I needed to call someone I used a payphone. Sometimes I even waited until I got home to make the phone call (imagine!). If I needed to get somewhere I hadn't been before, I used a map. If I didn't know something, I looked it up in our huge set of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Or I went to the library. Or I just wondered about it for a while, and sometimes, I didn't ever find out the answer at all.

But this week, being cut off from the outside world has made me realise just how much I have come to rely upon having all the world's knowledge simply a mouse click away. And it highlighted to me the fragility of that connection which we all take for granted. That little copper wire, that can't even stand a bit of rain, is all that connects me to the rest of the world.

And I'm very connected. I buy fabric from countries I've never been to, I learnt to crochet from watching videos on YouTube, I learnt how to make Marshmallow Fondant from a cake decorator in Finland, I can look at the front door of a house 3000km away using Google Streetview, I can find the answer to my daughter's questions about the current numbers of Emporor Penguins in Antarctica, and I can see what the weather is really like in Italy today.

And I realised that I no longer wonder about things.

Seriously, I don't. Do you?

If I want to know something I just Google it. I can always find the answer, instantly, because someone, somewhere in the world knows what the answer is, and I can connect to them through the wonder of the internet and the world wide web (as long as we don't get too much rain).

And now I wonder whether it's really healthy not to wonder about things...

Maybe I'll just Google it and find out.

Bright sunshiny day

2010-10-03T21:59:00.000+11:00

Today I am grateful for beautiful warm sunshine, the great aussie bbq, and the laughter of my children as they run and play outside in freshly mown grass.

I *heart* Spring.

Thank you

2010-10-02T21:00:00.000+10:00

I really want to thank everyone who left me a comment or sent me an email yesterday, your kind words and caring thoughts really were just what I didn't know I needed. So thank you.

I am especially grateful to my gorgeous friend Trash, who left this comment:
Oh Gyps, I am sad to hear of your loss. It is difficult to explain the depth of the hole left by such a sudden loss of such an important part of your childhood.

If you know Trash, you will know she has a very special way with words. She managed to articulate the exact thing I was struggling to understand myself. Of course I was shocked and devastated by Jeannie's sudden and tragic death, as were so many people who's lives she had touched. But if I'm to be completely honest, I couldn't understand the depth of such overwhelming grief and loss, when in reality, I hadn't seen Jeannie for many many years. She was not a part of my everyday grown up life, her death would not actually leave a gap, an emptiness, in my day to day life. But Trash nailed it: The sudden loss of such an important part of my childhood. I think part of me is even grieving for the loss of the little 7 year old girl that I knew and loved, because that's how I remember her most.

Thank you Trash, for giving me the words I couldn't find.

xx

The 1st of Blogtober

2010-10-01T11:42:00.001+10:00

Hello Blogtober, my old friend. I have not been blogging as much as I'd like to of late, and I think Blogtoberfest is just what I need to kick start me again.

I'm beginning Blogtober with a very heavy heart. My dear childhood friend Jeannie died last weekend in a terrible car accident. We farewelled her yesterday at a beautiful funeral, surrounded by many of her childhood friends and her heartbroken parents. I am in shock, and can't believe that she is gone. Jeannie was 37 years old, taken too early.

Jeannie

Photo by Wildwood Pictures, used with permission.

We met in primary school, in Grade 1, and we were the best of friends for a number of years until I moved to a different school. Whenever we would meet people and were introduced together, we were always met with looks of disbelief: "I'm Gypsy" I would say, "I'm Jeannie" she would say. People had lots of trouble believing two little girls were really called Gypsy & Jeannie! People would often confuse us, and I spent quite a long time answering to 'Jeannie'!

Jeannie and I stayed in touch during our teenage years, but lost contact after that. I have kept up with Jeannie's 'happenings' over the years, through mutual friends, but it has been a long time since I have seen her. Nonetheless, I am feeling her loss very deeply, as are so many other people.

I remember Jeannie's energy, her vibrant nature and her zest for life. Even as a child she was always coming up with great ideas to keep us entertained, and Jeannie always made us laugh. Being with Jeannie was always fun. And from what I heard yesterday at her funeral, she hadn't changed a bit.

Rest in peace Jeannie. You are loved, and sadly missed.

Donate Life

2010-09-18T23:14:00.000+10:00

Image from here

Today, our family is rejoicing. A much loved family member today received the gift of life from an anonymous stranger: My husband's beautiful Aunt endured 9 hours of surgery today and is the grateful recipient of new lungs. Truly a gift of life.

Our entire family is rejoicing in this amazing gift we have all been given today.

But also in our hearts today are thoughts for another family, a family in grief and sorrow at the loss of their loved one. We have only thanks and immense gratitude for this anonymous family, who, in their time of grief, were able to donate their loved one's organs to give new hope to so many families. We are eternally grateful, and our heartfelt thanks cannot be adequately expressed in words.

Have you made a decision to donate your organs? Have you talked to your family about your wishes? Please do, your decision could save many lives. Visit DonateLife for more information about organ donation.

Don't take your organs to Heaven. Heaven knows we need them here.

A series of unfortunate events

2010-09-12T12:17:00.000+10:00

Hhhmm, I have just realised it's been a long time between blog posts for me, and there seems to be no way of gently easing back into it. So I'm just going to jump back in with both feet.

We have had an eventful few weeks here at Chateau Dance For Cheese. We seem to have been suffering a constant stream of winter ailments, including the usual winter flus, colds, coughs and me being incapacitated by a horrid chest infection. The weather has been grey and miserable (although the rain has been glorious for the gardens), I'm cold and tired and uninspired, so there has been precious little crafting happening here of late.

But the most unfortunate event occured here this week when we discovered (the hard way) that my dear little Cheeseboy has a severe peanut allergy.

I was making crackers with peanut butter for the Boy Genius on Wednesday (his favourite snack) and Cheeseboy asked for one. He had never had peanut butter before, but as he is now 18 months old I decided it was probably the right time. My other two children eat peanut butter regularly and we have no history of allergies in our family.

I watched him carefully as he ate the cracker with peanut butter. No reaction. Great, thought I smugly, just as I suspected, no allergies here. What I didn't realise, having never really been educated about allergies, is that allergic reactions are not always instant.

About 10 minutes later I noticed that Cheeseboy's little cheeks were quite red. I did think it was odd, but didn't for a second think that it might be to do with the peanuts.

Another 10 minutes later and he began suddenly vomiting, and I noticed a bright red rash appearing on his face, and slowly spreading down his neck.

At this point, I still did not realise he was having an allergic reaction, and in fact, I couldn't fathom what was going on at all.

I rang Nurse On Call for advice (gosh that's a fantasic service). Whilst dialling, I stripped off his clothes and saw the rash had already spread to his tummy. His face was now completely covered in angry red welts. As I was describing his symptoms to the nurse, I realised it was an allergic reaction to the peanut butter. His eyes were swelling and puffy and red, and he was quite distressed. The nurse advised me to take him immediately to the Emergency Department at our local hospital (less than 1km from here).

At the ED they told me that whilst his throat was irritated and slightly swollen, his tongue was not swollen and his airways were clear. The doctor immediately treated him with antihistamines and steroids, which took about an hour to bring his symptoms under control.

We stayed in the hospital for 7 hours so they could observe him and make sure he was fine. We were sent home with antihistamines and steroids, and advised to have him seen by an Allergist as soon as possible to find out if he will need an epipen. The doctor also told me that if he accidently ingests peanuts again it is likely that his next reaction will be more severe, probably affecting his airways. This was one scary day.

We are waiting to see a specialist, and being extremely careful about what our little Cheeseboy eats in the meantime.

Interestingly, Cheeseboy has been suffering from a red rash on his face, for about 6 months. We have tried many many things to get rid of it, we weren't sure if it was eczema, a dribble rash, a teething rash, or maybe caused by his dummy? After our trip to the hospital and all the medications he was given, his rash has completely disappeared. Which makes me think it was possibly a reaction to traces of peanuts he has been ingesting in regular food - we eat lots of food which state on the labels 'may contain traces of peanuts'.

So now, I'm trying to get my head around how to manage a child with a potentially life threatening allergy. I'm trying to retrain myself to think about food in an entirely new way, checking labels carefully, asking about ingredients, and making sure everyone around us is aware of the situation, so hopefully my dear little Cheeseboy will not have to suffer through another allergic reaction.

My Creative Space...

2010-08-19T14:45:00.000+10:00

...this week is a lesson in perseverance. As you may remember, I have been trying to master the art of crochet, for quite some time now. I fell in love with the Granny Shrug, printed out Lara's pattern, dilligently read Kirsty's fab instructions, purchased some Paton's Wilderness in Mulberry and a rather large hook, and have practiced and practiced. All I seem to make is a big pile of Mulberry Tangles. I have finally come to the disappointing realisation that I suck at crochet.

Determined not to be the biggest loser in the yarn battle, I have taken up a new weapon. I learnt to knit as a teenager, and to be honest, I wasn't very good at it. Probably because I found it a bit boring and time consuming, when really, I much preferred to spend my time at my besty's place, crimping my hair, dancing madly to 'Papa Don't Preach' and singing into a hairbrush.

These days my priorities seem to have changed somewhat (thank goodness, I hear you say), and the thought of sitting quietly, enjoying the rythmic click clack of the knitting needles seems like heaven on a stick. Okay, so I haven't knitted for...a really long time, and when I did knit, I never actually completed anything, but nothing was going to stop me now!

...except when my stitches strayed so far that the pattern was barely recognisable. This was how far I got on my first attempt before deciding to unravel and start again. And let me tell you, I don't knit very fast, so this attempt took me hours. Unravelling it was awful.

My second attempt was unravelled before I'd invested quite so much time:

Can you see the big hole and tangle where a stitch is supposed to be?

Here's my third attempt right before I unravelled it:

Honestly, who thought that knitting a scarf would be so difficult??? It's almost enough

to make a girl dig out her Best Of Madonna CD from storage.

Okay, so I persevered. Which is not something I usually do. I'm more of a 'do it perfectly the first time or don't bother at all' kind of gal. Which, all in all, is not a very productive attitude. So here I am, in my creative space, persevering. And actually enjoying it a little...

For more creative spaces, visit Kirsty, who's a whiz with yarn and hook.

One of life's sensational pleasures

2010-08-14T11:12:00.001+10:00

I am pretty sure that, if you will be quite honest, you will admit that a good rousing sneeze, one that tears open your collar and throws your hair into your eyes, is really one of life's sensational pleasures.
~Robert Benchley,1932

Yes. Quite. Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt. The gloss has come off and we have all well and truly had enough of sneezing. And coughing. And sore throats. And feeling miserable.

Hope you and yours are still enjoying a good rousing sneeze.

Hurrah!

2010-08-05T07:48:00.000+10:00

An excellent email arrived this morning to brighten up my my otherwise dreary morning, from the lovely Anna at Polly Pratt, to tell me I am the lucky winner of her dress giveaway!

Have you seen the lovely clothes Anna is making? If not, you really should, her dresses and skirts are so pretty. I'm usually more of a 'pants' kind of girl, but I'm looking forward to a change this summer in my new Polly Pratt original.

Thanks a million Anna, you've made my day.

80s Movie of the Week - The Colour Purple

2010-08-04T22:38:00.000+10:00

Week 4

Her Choice: The Colour Purple, 1985

What's it all about: Well, I have tried and tried to write you a short synopsis of this amazing film, but I have found it an impossible task. If you haven't seen it and want to know more about 'The Color Purple', there is a good (but lengthy) description here. If you have seen it, you will understand the difficulties I'm having!

Who's in it: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey

The Upshot: This film is a heart wrenching and uplifting tale of the triumph of the human spirit. I laughed, I despaired, I wept, I hoped, I was filled with joy. If you haven't seen it, you must.

His Rating: 9/10 Violet Crumbles

Her Rating: 9/10 West Coast Coolers

Craft & Quilt Fair x 2

2010-08-04T10:36:00.000+10:00

I must confess, I actually started writing this blog post last week right after the fair, but didn't manage to finish it and hit 'publish' until now! I hope you enjoy this somewhat belated account of the Craft & Quilt Fair!

Last weekend I made it to the Craft and Quilt Fair not once, but twice! What a lucky girl I am. On Saturday I spent the entire day admiring the beautiful quilts, making one or two small purchases (!) and being inspired by all the talented crafty peeps at the show. I spent the day alone, but before you start to feel sorry for me you must remember that I am the mother of 3 very busy little people and time alone is an extremely rare commodity in my life. So I absolutely relished the thought of spending hours and hours, by myself, wandering through the craft fair. (I did try to make Jodie's meet, just to say hi, not realising it had been cancelled, hope you're feeling better soon Jodie).

And it certainly was a great day. I stopped to admire the beautiful free motion quilting of a very talented lady who turned out to be Kate of Kate's Sewing Centre, who invited me to sit down with her and proceeded to give me a half hour tutorial in the art of FMQ. Kate was so lovely, not to mention generous with her time and sharing her knowledge, I learned so much, thank you Kate!

I was particularly taken with this beautiful whole cloth quilt "Hearts of Love" by Wendy Arnold. I am very new to quilting, and to be honest, it had never occured to me not to have a colourful pieced quilt top. This has opened up a whole new world of ideas for me. Although this quilt is actually pieced from three pieces of white cloth, it was still referred to as a 'whole cloth quilt' by the 'quilt angel' who was chatting to me about it. It is huge, measuring 216cm x 260cm and is machine quilted.
Andi has lots more photos of the amazing quilts that were on display, including another of my favourites, Crop Circles.

On Sunday, I made it back to the Fair with the Junior Crafter and her Crafty Sidekick in tow. We met up with Karen and Liesl (with Argy and Bargy in tow) and had a wonderful afternoon wandering around the fair. Argy and Bargy were particularly well behaved and ever so cute, despite dire forecasts to the contrary!

The Junior Crafter was very interested in purchasing some 'horse fabric', so Karen kindly took her to a stall over in the next aisle to find some. The Junior Crafter carefully perused the fabric and informed Karen that although it was lovely, she didn't think she would buy it as it wasn't great value for money. She had already purchased a fat quarter for half the price this merchant was asking for a 30cm cut, she knowingly informed Karen. (She's 8 years old, and was ever so careful with her $20 spending money!)

The girls and Argy and Bargy had a wonderful time felting at the Sewing Art Studio. The kids were able to use the Pfaff Embellisher machine to make some amazing pieces of fabric art. I love this machine, it uses no thread at all but instead has 5 needles which punch through the layers of fabric, creating a felted effect.

The Junior Crafter using the embellisher (and wearing the pinny I made her)

Bargy discovering his artistic side on the embellishing machine

I also had fun playing with fibres and free motion stitching in the Sewing Art Studio:

I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with it, but I really like it. I think it would be nice inset into a panel on a bag, or maybe just hung on the wall in my sewing room?

Of course, the afternoon was somewhat hampered by my painful foot, but I soldiered on and eventually made it home where The Bloke Who Lives At My Place administered ice, bandages, rest and a healthy dose of medicinal chocolate. Just what the doctor ordered.

Update: xrays showed no fracture and the foot's only bothering me slightly now, thanks for all the concern lovely readers.

Questions from the peanut gallery

2010-07-30T14:27:00.000+10:00

I was showing our wedding album to the 4 year old today, and the conversation went something like this:

Boy Genius: Mum, why did Dad choose you to be married to?
Me: Hmmm, that's an interesting question...
Boy Genius: I know! It's because you're the best cook!
Me: Hmm, maybe...
Boy Genius: You are the best cook Mum. You really are.

Thank you my darling.

Things I have learned today...

2010-07-29T23:59:00.001+10:00

my foot is not fractured (hurrah!);
Cheeseboy dances for cheesecake too;
my car, which was damaged in the hailstorm in March, will be repaired (yes, it has actually taken the insurance company 5 months and 4 assessments to decide this). When it will actually be repaired is anyone's guess;
Patons Wilderness, although very attractive and perfect for the Granny Shrug, is apparently more suited to people who can actually crochet. It does not lend itself to being unravelled and re-crocheted numerous times. After the second time, one needs to use scissors and start again;
that I can actually take the hip (19") and outside leg (21") measurements of the Boy Genius' whilst he's asleep, without disturbing him at all.
that there are simply not enough hours in my day. Even with this.

Feeling much better

2010-07-28T20:16:00.000+10:00

Thank you for the lovely messages about my unfortunate accident (and resulting Dedicated Crafter Award).

So now an update. Since neither the doctor's office or the hospital has called me with any results from my x-rays, I am presuming that my foot is not actually fractured. Or possibly this is simply our overworked and underfunded public health system at its finest. Do you think either Julia or Tony are at all interested in my x-rays? Either way, my foot seems to be improving (coincidentally, my disposition seems also somewhat improved after two days of lying about on the couch watching bad daytime tv and eating Tim Tams).

I am afraid I have been failing miserably at keeping my blog up to date, so will endeavour to bring you up to speed with all the latest goings on here at D4C during the next few days.

I have a few lovely balls of Patons Wilderness and a 15mm hook in hand to finally have a crack at Kirsty's Granny Shrug. Hope you too are enjoying a cosy winter's evening by the fire, maybe with some handcraft to keep you company.

Now that's dedication...

2010-07-26T22:47:00.001+10:00

A funny thing happened on my way to the Craft Fair.

Okay, actually it wasn't so funny, it was quite painful.

You see, I was on my way yesterday from Father Bob's celebration to the Craft and Quilt Fair when I had a little stumble on an uneven footpath and rolled my foot. It was immediately clear to me that the situation was dire, and an ambulance was needed to rush me to hospital for emergency orthopedic surgery, when suddenly, I remembered...two dear, sweet, innocent little 8 year old Crafters were looking at me with huge disappointed puppy-dog eyes. They had waited their entire crafty little lives for this one day at the Craft Fair. Not to mention some other crafty peeps who were awaiting my arrival at the show! Who was I to let them down? So I pulled myself together, swallowed my pain and soldiered on, all the way to Jeff's Shed.

Okay, so that's not exactly how it happened. But...I did roll my foot very painfully, gave it a few minutes to see if there was any damage and when it appeared all was fine I continued on to the Craft Fair, with the Junior Crafter and her Sidekick in tow.

However, after a few hours of wandering the Fair, it became painfully apparent that I had actually done some damage to my foot, and by the time I got home last night I could barely walk. I popped in to see my doctor this afternoon and he sent me off for x-rays, concerned about a possible fracture.

I'm still awaiting the results, but if I find that I spent yesterday afternoon walking every aisle at the Craft and Quilt Fair with a broken foot, then surely I must qualify for some kind of Dedicated Crafter Award?

More about what we got up to at the show (and pictures of loot) to follow soon, I promise.

In Bob we trust

2010-07-26T10:18:00.000+10:00

Image from here

Yesterday we celebrated Father Bob Maguire's 50th Anniversary as a Catholic Priest. If you live in Melbourne, you probably know of Father Bob, he's somewhat of a celebrity these days, appearing on television, radio, Twitter, Podcasts and even has his own Wiki entry. Bob's commitment to humanitarian and charity work through the Father Bob Foundation is long standing and well known.

But Father Bob is more to us than priest, community leader and charity worker. He is also The Bloke's Great Uncle, and so we proudly joined a huge family contingent at Sts Peter and Pauls in South Melbourne yesterday for a special Mass celebrating Bob's 50 years in the priesthood. This is the same beautiful church where The Bloke and I were married, by Father Bob, more than 11 years ago.

I love this photo of Bob with my little Cheeseboy, taken at a family wedding a few months ago.

It was a wonderful celebration, which Bob took in his stride although he did seem a bit bemused about 'all the fuss'. At one point during the service he said he hoped the Church police weren't here because they would lock him up and throw away the key if they saw this Altar Cloth made for him by members of the parish:

Congratulations Bob, on 50 years of service to the community and generally being an all round caring and compassionate man. We love you.

Questions from the peanut gallery

2010-07-21T20:00:00.000+10:00

Mum, what's the opposite of middle sized?

Boy Genius: 1
Me: nil

The one in which Tinniegirl makes an appearance

2010-07-18T16:47:00.021+10:00

Cathy. Tinniegirl. She paints, she laughs, she cooks, she debates, she's opinionated, she cares, she writes, she's funny, she's warm, she stitches, she sings, she blogs, she drinks, she's strong, she crochets, she's thoughtful, she shares, she's supportive, she's a little crazy, and even though she's strangely obsessed with rabbitholes and 3D experiential art, I think she's one amazing woman.

Artist at work

The delicious dinner Cathy cooked for us at Sewjourn, lamb tagine with all the trimmings

We each received a vintage collectible teaspoon with a note reading: "Bring me to dinner on Saturday night" and a Tinniegirl Affirmation Card

And here's what we needed the spoon for

Oh. My. God.

Cathy crocheted a gorgeous scarf for the stork (ibis?) to go with the striped legwarmers Tania made.

And finally, I thought you might like to see just how much fun our Cathy can be, especially when she's modelling some kind of strange urn cover, or testing out a cape for potential super powers (The pic in the middle is her serious artist-at-work type alter-ego!)

I *heart* Tinniegirl.

Cathy's first Art Exhibition opens this Thursday night, details are here. I'll see you there.

Here's the story...

2010-07-17T22:53:00.011+10:00

of a lovely lady,
who was sewing clothes each and every day,
all of them had bust adjustments, and other changes,
but there were no berets.

Here's the story, of a great designer,
who was busy making patterns of her own,
all of them were bags or hats or even dresses,
but they were all alone.

Til the one day when this lady met this designer,
and they knew that it was much more than a dream,
that they would somehow help each other,
and that's the way that they became the beret team.

And here's the beret Liesl whipped up at Sewjourn from Nikki's new pattern, modelled by (clockwise from top left) Liesl, Cathy, Caitlin, Bec, Alice (who seems to have lost her beret), Melanie, me and Cam, and Nikki wearing her own beret.

You can buy the pattern for this fab beret in Nikki's shop.

You can read Liesl's beret review here.

For more on what we got up to at Sewjourn last weekend, click here.

Sewjourn

2010-07-17T21:41:00.000+10:00

Last weekend Liesl, Cathy, Bec, Melanie, Caitlin, day tripper Cam and I went to Sewjourn.

There was lots of sewing and making, a bit of painting, loads of wonderful food, a little wine of course, and lots and lots of talking, getting to know new friends, and catching up with wonderful creative peeps I don't get to see enough of in the real world.

Apologies in advance for the photo heavy post, but I was the (un)official photographer for the weekend.

Tinniegirl art in progress

Caitlin and some of her stunning Pippijoe fabrics

Many hands make light work - basting Liesl's quilt.

More stunning Pippijoe fabrics

Caitlin's paper flowers, an elegant addition to the dining table

My quilt, started at Sew It Together in May, still a work in progress!

Melanie's gorgeous quilt top (particularly nice sashing there Mel!)

The view from Sewjourn - what's not to love?

Thanks girls for a beautiful weekend.

Happy Birthday to...

2010-07-16T11:38:00.003+10:00

my dear, sweet, kind, generous, thoughtful and all round wonderful friend Liesl.

Image credit

I'm sorry I didn't have time to make you a cake m'dear, but I did find you this amazing sewing machine cake (yes, that's really a cake!) to drool over!

You can wish Liesl a Happy Birthday too: liesl [at] hoppobumpo [dot] com In case you were wondering, Liesl is of course turning 21.

Hope you have a perfect day HB.

80s Movie of the Week Roadhouse

2010-07-14T07:13:00.007+10:00

Week 3

His Choice: Roadhouse, 1989

What's it all about: A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar. And it stars the late great Patrick Swayze - need I say more?

Who's in it: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliot, Jeff Healy

The Upshot: It was awesome. Totally awesome. One of my favourite 80s flicks ever! I loved it every time I watched it in the 80s and it has only got better with age. It has a bit of everything, action, drama, romance, Patrick Swayze almost naked, philosophy, a happy ending, did I mention Patrick Swayze au natural?

Love it, love it, love it. Might watch it again. If you haven't seen it, you totally should.

His Rating: 9/10 Violet Crumbles

Her Rating: 9/10 West Coast Coolers

ps. I thought you'd be bigger...

TGI Friday!

2010-07-09T08:45:00.000+10:00

It's Friday.

It's been a long week.

It's been a busy school holidays.

I'll be here for the weekend.

Stitching.

image from here

Enjoying.

image from here

Relaxing.

image from here

See you Monday.

Out of the mouth of Cheeseboy

2010-07-08T12:05:00.001+10:00

Cheeseboy and I were waiting for my flat tyre to be repaired at the tyre store this morning when Cheeseboy's dear little face suddenly lit up with joy and he called out rather loudly "Dadda!"

I turned in surprise. I was sure The Bloke Who Lives At My Place was at the office today.

Alas, it wasn't his 'Dadda' Cheeseboy had spied. It was this poster. Oh dear!

Image from here

I bet The Bloke is ever so glad he's been getting up at 5.30am to go to the gym...

80s Movie of The Week - The Breakfast Club

2010-07-07T07:41:00.014+10:00

Week 2

The Bloke bought us a couple of trendy drinks to bring us right back to 1985, so we could sit back and enjoy:

Her Choice: The Breakfast Club, 1985

What's it all about: Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.

Who's in it: Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheady

The Upshot: The cast is a who's who of the 80s, and The Breakfast Club is one of the quintessential films of the decade. I found the film a lot more believable when I watch it as a teenager, and I remember clearly being shocked at bad boy John Bender getting together with prim and proper Claire at the end of the film. This time round I can't believe how naive I was back then not to see something so predictable happening!

Also notable for fans of The Simpsons and Futurama, this movie contains the line "Eat my shorts!" delivered by bad boy John Bender. Coincidence? Nope. Matt Groening has admitted in an official US Playstation Magazine that he named the robot 'Bender' in Futurama after The Breakfast Club character John Bender, and the movie is almost certainly where he got Bart Simpson's "Eat my shorts" catchphrase from.

I loved the film, but not as much as the first time around.

His Rating: 9/10 Violet Crumbles

Her Rating: 7/10 West Coast Coolers

Have you seen it? Did you love it?

Baking...and more baking

2010-07-06T16:26:00.000+10:00

We have been very busy in the kitchen of late, although at the moment I'm baking in an old fashioned metal tin - at least I'm certain metal can go in the oven!)

Caramel Slice

The Junior crafter baked a delicious chocolate cake with pink icing and sprinkles (of course).

(She takes icing her cakes very seriously!)

And a banana cake using this recipe which was soooo yummy!

A Snappy Solution (this one's for you Cam)

2010-07-05T15:37:00.000+10:00

Last week I had a lovely visit at Karen's place. Karen made us a yummy soup for lunch, the kids played and danced and dressed up, and Karen and I ~~made wedding plans for them~~ took them out for a walk. It was a fab day, and Karen has blogged some great pics here showing just some of the children's excellent fashion sense.

Not surprisingly, with 5 children under 5 years between us we didn't get any sewing done, but we did manage to have a play with Karen's snap press. It's awesome, I definitely need to buy one!

And Cam, you'll be pleased to hear, we replaced the broken snap on your pinny - hurrah!

So it's ready to be delivered to Spotlight with the other 20 or so dresses and 8 pairs of shorts which have been sent to me by so many wonderful crafty peeps.

Completed - The Panel Bag

2010-07-04T12:31:00.001+10:00

I've been doing a spot of pattern testing, and...

Ta-Daaaa!

When it comes to bags I am a complete beginner. In fact, when it comes to sewing, I'm still a novice. I have never made a bag before and would never have attempted one with a lining and a base! I have only ever sewn pleats once (and I'm not sure little ones on a pocket really count), I have never inserted a zip pocket or compartment pockets in a bag lining before, I have never used O-rings. And, I have never used one of Nikki's patterns before. I was more than a little apprehensive.

But look:

Pleats!

O-Rings!

Zipped pocket!

Compartment pocket!

I made the bag completely from my stash, using a pretty bird fabric from Ikea, some black embroidered suede left over from my first attempt at a skirt (what was I thinking?), and some pretty paisley polycotton I don't even remember buying!

I can't say enough great things about Nikki's pattern and instructions. The level of detail in the pattern made it possible for me to do some scary things I've never done before, simply by following Nikki's well written instructions.

Of course, no matter how fabulously well put together a pattern is, we all still love a good sewing mishap now, don't we?

Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

No? Can't see the problem?

Does this help?

Yes, it's always a good tip to have the O-Ring inside the tab before stitching the tab closed. Doh!

I can't wait to try another of Nikki's patterns, and if you haven't tried one, give it a go, I bet you'll love it!

Completed - Reversible Winter Pinafore

2010-07-02T17:13:00.000+10:00

Buttonholed. Buttoned. Taken in a little. Unpicked. Restitched, taking care to line up the seams properly this time. Hemmed. Wrapped. Delivered to the birthday girl. Well received. Yay!

Pleated pockets made using this tutorial

Heart shaped pocket all my idea!

Vintage self cover buttons from the Op Shop.

My Creative Space

2010-07-01T07:04:00.015+10:00

In my Creative Space this week I'm getting back to nature, playing with some flora...

and fauna...

(I'll show you when it's finished...which was supposed to be yesterday...but I keep getting interrupted when I'm trying to sew!

Click here to visit some more lovely Creative Spaces. As always, thanks to Kirsty for hosting My Creative Space.

80s Movie Of The Week - Bladerunner

2010-06-30T08:05:00.002+10:00

The Bloke Who Lives At My Place has established a new Date Night ritual at our place. Each week we will be reliving and reviewing the awesome 1980s through the medium of Interpretive Dance. No, not really! Instead, we are taking turns choosing an 80s DVD to watch each week, and will be trying hard to outdo and impress each other with our choices.

I have compiled an impressive list of 80s movies I would like to watch, and The Bloke has done the same, so each week I will be bringing you a review of our 80s Movie Of The Week.

I should probably point out that my reviews will contain plot spoilers. Just in case it's an 80s flick you haven't managed to see sometime over the last 30 years, and think you might like to, you have been warned!

Popcorn and some 80s snacks to set the mood:

Week 1

His Choice: Bladerunner 1982

What's it all about: Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 4 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to earth seeking their maker.

Who's in it: Harrison Ford, Darryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young.

The Upshot: I was seriously impressed by The Bloke's choice for opening night. I'm not a big Sci-Fi fan, but I loved Bladerunner in the 80s, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. It's a Sci-Fi action flick but it's also a beautiful love story, and of course it stars a young and dangerously good looking Harrison Ford.
Although Blade Runner was originally released in 1982, we actually watch the Director's Cut (1990). The directors cut omits Deckard's voiceover, which didn't bother me at all, but also cuts my favourite scene of the movie: the final scene where Deckard and Rachel fly off into the sunset toward an uncertain future but together and in love. I did not like the movie ending at the preceding scene with Deckard and Rachel getting into the elevator, and implication that Gaff would be after them, denying them a happy ending. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending!

His Rating: 8/10 Violet Crumbles

Her Rating: 7/10 West Coast Coolers

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Cheeseboy strikes again

2010-06-29T17:51:00.002+10:00

Nobody told me there'd be days like these...

when you have to laugh just so you don't cry.

I heart Dandelion

2010-06-28T15:02:00.000+10:00

Last week I received a lovely package in the mail from a very special friend. I was lucky enough to win two Lavender Hearts in Beck's giveaway, so imagine my surprise when I open my package to see all this!

Beck's own biodynamic garlic, two blocks of Lindt (my favourite!) and...

As well as the two Lavender Hearts, Beck also made me a chain of hearts (which I adore!) and a beautiful vintage button hairclip. Can you smell the lavender? It's heavenly!

I am one lucky girl! Thanks so much Beck for the beautiful gifts.

Better late than never...

2010-06-27T08:22:00.000+10:00

I used to sometimes struggle to find things to blog about, and was often wishing I had more time to be creative and make things, or do more interesting things so I'd have something to 'show and tell' on my blog. Now the blog can't keep up with real life! And now I struggle to find time to write blog posts about all the fun stuff I've been up to! How's the irony?

So, here's a belated thank you to Bec for hosting a lovely Crafternoon last Sunday. The Junior Crafter came along and had a ball playing with Bec's Little Miss and doing some Junior Crafting:

I did a little bit of cutting out for my winter pinny (on which I've made progress since last week. I really need to keep up with blogging or I feel like I'm going backwards!)

And we all enjoyed some magnificent food and lots of great company.

And we missed some people who weren't allowed out to play. Their mums wrote them a sick note and made them stay home in bed.

Thanks Bec for a lovely Crafternoon!

**Lots more photos here :)

We're going to the...

2010-06-26T07:35:00.001+10:00

Zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you,

You can come too, too, too,

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

Yep, it's officially school holidays.

Hope you're enjoying yours :)

Rockwiz at The Palais

2010-06-25T17:58:00.001+10:00

Last October I camped out all night with my sleeping bag and thermos to be first in line to get tickets to see Rockwiz on tour at The Palais, and it paid off, we got front row tickets! Okay, so I was actually camped out at my computer with a visa card and a glass of white, but you get the picture; it's all about the dedication.

We had a fantastic night and thoroughly enjoyed seeing awesome live performances by Ella Hooper, Angry Anderson, Claire Bowditch (how much do I love this woman!), Vika Bull, Steve Kilby and Adalita Srsen, not to mention the Rockwiz Band.

During the show, host Brian Nankervis mentioned that this was the first show to go on sale, so we were sitting amongst the most truly dedicated Rockwiz fans in the country. It did not escape my attention that we were actually sitting with 2500 people who clearly have no life and who are always home watching SBS at 9.30 on Saturday nights. And we were in the front row. I have no life.

Thanks to my mum for babysitting so we could pretend we still have a life!

My Creative Space - Reversible winter weight Pinafore

2010-06-24T12:39:00.001+10:00

I'm not at all sure why I jumped into the 'Pinafores for an Orphanage' cause so enthusiastically, considering that I've never really made clothing before. And I've certainly never made a dress before! A whole lot of optimism and a 'Have a Crack' attitude I presume!

Armed with new confidence after my unexpected success in turning out 3 lovely (if I do say so myself) pinafores for the orphanage, I have whipped up another Pinny for my niece's 2nd birthday. This is a winter weight dress made using embroidered corduroy.

I even had a go at pockets on this one using this great tutorial from Made By Rae.

I have to take it in a bit under the arms (she's a tiny little thing!) and it still needs hemming and some buttons. Hoping to finish it today!

For more Creative Spaces, visit Kirsty.

I'm marking my calendar

2010-06-23T22:50:00.000+10:00

Look what's just around the corner!

See you there!

Oops, guess I was wrong

2010-06-17T23:54:00.000+10:00

It's definitely not a silicone baking tray. Apparently it is was a silicone ice cube tray from Ikea. Oops.

As I glanced into the hot oven to check the progress of my banana and choc chip muffins I saw that the silicone baking tray was slowly drooping down through the bars of the oven rack in a manner reminiscent of melted cheese. Also, I now realise, in a manner reminiscent of being a silicone ice cube tray.

I immediately had visions of a similar incident and panicked at the thought of having to buy a new oven - mine is only 3 years old and is my second favourite thing in the kitchen (Behind the ducted vacuum kicker and only marginally ahead of my beloved Tupperware collection).

Luckily, my oven escaped unscathed. The ~~baking tray~~ ice cube tray was not so lucky. Next time I'm making Margaritas, can you bring the ice?

A lovely giveaway at Apple and Tangerine

2010-06-07T10:14:00.000+10:00

Tanya at Apple and Tangerine is hosting a very lovely giveaway this week, that you should really look at (although you probably shouldn't enter as that will seriously diminish my chances of winning), but you really should pop in and have a look at what Tanya's been up to over at Apple and Tangerine! Thanks for the generous giveaway Tanya!

ps. there are no extra entries in the draw for blogging about this giveaway, I just thought it was very generous and deserved a mention.

NCB and some Pinny love

2010-06-04T13:51:00.000+10:00

I ventured out to the Northern Craft Bonanza last night, and it was jumpin'! So many crafty girls there, stitching, hooking, knitting, chatting...ok, mostly chatting, but loads of craft taking place as well.
Some were making a start on Kirsty's granny shrug. Nikki and Trudi were making really beautiful newborn dolls. There was a surprise appearance by one lovely crafty girl I thought hadn't come back to the real world yet.
And the nicest surprise was the enormous stack of Pinafores which were awaiting my arrival; don't they look pretty all hanging up together:

Thanks a million lovely ladies. I have put a list in my sidebar of all the girls who have made a pinafore for a great cause. There's still time to join in if you want to make one too.

Spare a thought

2010-05-30T20:06:00.000+10:00

Our heating broke today, and it's freezing cold here in tonight.

I was having a bit of moan about how cold I was and generally feeling a bit sorry for myself, when I suddenly stopped. I realised I have nothing to complain about. I thought about how many people are cold tonight because they can't afford heating. And how many people are cold tonight because they are homeless. And I thought about how easy it is to not think about them when we are tucked up warm and safe in our homes at night.

So I've called the heating repair guy. The Bloke Who Lives At My Place has built me a fire. And I've made a donation to the Father Bob's Foundation. Father Bob Maguire (or Uncle Bobby as he's known around here) works incredibly hard to support disadvantaged members of our community. I only wish there were more people like him on earth.

Spare a thought tonight for those who are less fortunate than us.

Kirsty's Granny Shrug

2010-05-28T10:39:00.000+10:00

I was super impressed when I saw the Granny Shrug that Kirsty has whipped up over at Kootoyoo, and I'm looking forward to the tutorial she has very kindly promised to share.

This morning Kirsty set a little shopping list for the Granny Shrug. Oooh, I read it with great excitement and amidst visions of whipping up my own gorgeous Shrug was grabbing the car keys to go buy some supplies, when...darn it...common sense crept in...only momentarily, of course, but long enough for me to glance in the direction of my pile of UFO's. Which seems to currently be a decent size (by which I mean I can't get to the craft cupboard due to the enormous pile of projects in varying states of completion which is blocking the way. I'm keeping Cheese Boy well away lest it actually topple and bury him, never to be seen again).

Not even rating a mention is the fact that I can barely crochet, and have yet to complete more than one granny square. I'm never one to let lack of experience/knowledge/ability get in the way of crafting fun!

My Creative Space

2010-05-27T07:24:00.027+10:00

1 awesome quilty friend

1 oversized quilt top*

3 layers of quilt sandwich

361 basting pins

1 walking foot

1 rather large blueberry danish & a packet of Twisties

Making progress on my very first quilt? Priceless.

*I added a border. A rather large border. This quilt started out as a baby quilt. It almost fits my queen size bed. Ambitious? Deluded? You decide.

Do you know what this is?

2010-05-25T22:33:00.000+10:00

In case you can't tell (due to the very poor picture quality) it's a walking foot. Installed in anticipation of a rather exciting crafternoon tomorrow. And despite the fact that Janome provides virtually no instructions regarding how to attach this foot to one's machine, I managed to attach it in less than 2 minutes, thanks to this excellent post which can be found at Hoppo Bumpo.

Incidentally, Liesl's post contains much better pictures of the walking foot, probably using a fancy camera with a flash instead of an iphone ...and yes, it's actually the same one, thanks for the loan Liesl!

Completed - Kinder Safety Vests

2010-05-25T07:10:00.001+10:00

I finally finished stitching clear vinyl pockets on to the backs of 65 High Visibility safety vests for our kinder. Yes, that's right, 65 of them. Here's a tip for you for free: if someone happens to ask if you can sew some clear vinyl pockets onto 65 of anything, you should probably just say no!

Although, on the plus side, I did save the kinder $660 of hard earned fundraising money which can now be spent on paints and puzzles and toys for the kinder, so I do feel pretty good about that. And of course, if the children do have to be evacuated in an emergency, they will be wearing High Vis safety vests with all their personal info safely tucked into a little vinyl pocket on the back, which will keep them as safe as possible, and I feel really good about that.

Many thanks to Liesl for putting me onto the teflon foot, best $25 I've ever spent.

Weekend

2010-05-24T09:13:00.002+10:00

The fancy hotel

The room

The 'do

The big event

The wonderful MC

The girls

The date

The perfect ending.

Hope you had a lovely weekend too.

Ernst's Big City Adventure

2010-05-21T19:00:00.002+10:00

Ernst was very excited about going to Sew It Together. He was so looking forward to meeting some lovely bloggy crafty friends and living it up in the Big Smoke for the weekend.

Ernst had a lovely time admiring all the things being crafted at Sew It Together.

After lunch, some of the girls went on a shopping trip. Ernst was very excited, but his face fell as he watched everyone leave without him. "Wait for me Jodie" he cried...but Jodie didn't hear him. Poor Ernst.

So Ernst decided to do a little sightseeing of his own.

. Ernst was very excited about going in an elevator (There aren't many elevators in Ernst's town!).

Not far from the hotel, Ernst made a most delicious discovery.

It was very hard to choose just one!

Next stop was Clegs. Ernst thought the stripes would make a very nice shirt, and wondered if Jodie could be distracted from her wool purchases long enough to check them out...

And of course even a little turtle knows that you can't visit Melbourne without a stop at Tessuti's. Ernst loved the soft cottons, and thought this gray gingham would look very dapper on him!

Oh Ernst, what are you doing? Those are ladies shoes!!!

Back at the Citigate, Ernst sat back and drank in the creativity around him and thought he would never have such an exciting day out again. What a lucky little turtle!

A beautiful example...

2010-05-21T09:06:00.000+10:00

of a completed pinafore. I just had to show you this stunning pinny that Steph has made for a very worthy cause. Isn't it gorgeous?

More pics of this beautiful frock and a rather inspiring post can be found at Mon Petit Poppet. Thank you Steph.

Pinafore news

2010-05-20T18:40:00.002+10:00

Thank you so much to everyone who has contacted me to say you will be whipping up a pinafore for the Dago Dala Hera Orphange. I have spoken with staff at Spotlight Bayswater today and they asked if completed pinnies could be returned to the store in the next 2-3 weeks, which is by the 2nd week of June. They also mentioned that they are looking for plain elastic waist cotton shorts for boys, so if anyone can sew up a pair or two of those that would also be a great help.
As I mentioned on the weekend, you can send your pinafores/shorts directly to Spotlight Bayswater or you can send them to me and I'll deliver them to the store (email me for my postal address thecraftgypsy@iprimus.com.au)

**I'm more than happy for people to mail their dresses/shorts directly to me, I'd love to be able to present the store with a pile of clothes and let them see just what craft bloggers have done to help.

**Shorts can be made in any boys' size, I'm thinking any size from 2 to 10 would be fine.

My Creative Space - I need help!

2010-05-20T13:08:00.001+10:00

I'm having a little problem with my creative space this week. I'm attempting to make a Pinafore for a very worthy charity, but I've hit a little snag, and as I have absolutely no experience making pinafores (or any other sort of frock for that matter) I'm stuck! Maybe you can help?

Here's the problem:
The pattern is size 8. I borrowed the pattern from the store and was advised I would need two different fabrics, each1 metre, to make it reversible. So I need to cut a back and a front from each piece of fabric. Here it comes: One of my fabrics is a directional print, and selvedge to selvedge it's not wide enough for me to cut both a front and a back. Aaarrrgh. It's short by about 3cm, and only at the bottom of the dress, where the skirt is the widest.

Here's the question: Can I just reshape the curve at the bottom of the sideseam so that the bottom of the dress doesn't flare out quite as much? That will make it fit on the fabric, and I'm hoping won't alter the dress very much as it's only a small amount?

PS. Would you like to make a pinny too? Go on, please do!

Sew It Together with Pics

2010-05-17T17:22:00.002+10:00

I think I summed it up pretty well in my last post, but now you want all the goss, right?

See, there actually was some crafting getting done! (Great pose there Bec!)

I pieced my first ever quilt top which would not have been done without this terribly awesome chick:

Here is clever, sensible, finished a quilt in one day yes including the binding, Patch Andi

And here is Let Your Hair Down, "the quilt is finished, I'm having a Pina Colada with Gypsy" Andi!

I am, of course, ridiculously proud of myself. Thanks Andi *heart*

Here are Kate and Beck, glad you could make the trip to the Big Smoke girls.

This is me with the lovely Kelly, who was just a little bit too much like me...Single White Female anyone?

Liesl, my partner in craft and the perfect 'roomie', thanks for a lovely weekend!

Trash and me. She got me drunk and tried to instigate a cheese wave. Don't come back Trash, you won't be welcome here. Unless you dance for cheese.

No pics, but special mentions to Bianca and Abbe thanks for the secret handshake girls, and Karen, who Danced for Cheese *heart*

I'm still at a loss for words when trying to thank Sheridan properly for bringing us all together. Sheridan, you had me at Hello.

You asked for it!

2010-05-17T08:09:00.002+10:00

I am now officially The Blogger Formerly Known As The Craft Gypsy. By popular demand, my new blog title is "Dance for Cheese". If you didn't make it to SIT on the weekend you probably have no idea what this is about - suffice to say "Dance for Cheese" is about doing something silly and fun (and a little bit wrong) purely for my own amusement, a perfectly apt blog title for me I think!

I'll be working on a new blog header later today, so just talk amongst yourselves for now.

PS. HoppoBumpo has officially won the prize for comment of the year. If you missed it, check out the comments on this post. Liesl, your oversized novelty prizewinner's cheque is in the mail.

Dance, anyone?

2010-05-16T20:20:00.000+10:00

Pic from here

Sew It Together

2010-05-16T15:29:00.000+10:00

Oh my god. Bestest weekend EVER.

And sew it begins

2010-05-15T00:30:00.000+10:00

Thank you Nikki for hosting a fun and fabulous soiree tonight for the Sew It Together girls, what a lovely start to a crafty weekend.

My Creative Space

2010-05-13T21:43:00.000+10:00

This week my creative space is about making space to get creative...get it?

My 'space' has been in complete chaos and I haven't been able to find anything let alone actually make something! I really needed to organise my stash, but don't have any shelves to store it on as my space is part of the Sewing room/Study/Library/Music room, so there are many competing interests for the available storage.

So I got creative and found some plastic tubs that used to store kids' toys and started folding. All the fabric is grouped by colour and I actually know what I have in there! Excellent. I have also sorted my stash of zips, snaps, elastic, binding, ribbons and scraps. Now maybe I can find something to take to S.I.T. this weekend...

Thanks for hosting Kirsty, click here to see what everyone else is doing in their space this week.

PS. Would you like to make a little Pinafore for a really worthy cause? Click here for the details!

Pinafores for Orphanage - can you help?

2010-05-13T13:35:00.000+10:00

I was in Spotlight Bayswater yesterday, stocking up on a few things for the weekend, when I noticed a line strung up across the back of the store with a number of very pretty little pinafores pegged up on it. Intrigued, I enquired about it at the cutting counter and was told that they are being made by staff and customers to be donated to the Dago Dela Hera Orphanage in Kenya.

Apparently a young Melbourne woman spent some time volunteering at the orphanage in Christmas 2009 and was struck by the fact that the children there have no proper clothing. So she and her mother, Karen, along with about 20 women who Karen works with in the dress department at Spotlight, have started making reversible pinafores to send to Dago Dela Hera, and they have asked customers to join them as well.

Want to be involved? All you need to do is make a girl's reversible pinafore and take it or send it to the store! Simple! They are collecting pinafores in many sizes to suit young girls of different ages, so you can make whatever size you like. The lovely ladies in the dress department will even lend you a pattern if you need one (however when I was there yesterday all the patterns were already on loan). The patterns they are using are

New Look 6576 and New Look 6578 but you may use any simple pinafore pattern - preferably a reversible pinafore so the girls can have two dresses in one!

Of course the other thing that you can do to help is mention it on your blog and try to spread the word! If you do, can you leave me a link to your post so I can read it too! Thanks :)

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I'll reply, or alternatively you may call Chelli at Spotlight Bayswater on 03 9729 0770 and she will be happy to talk to you.

**If you are coming along to Sew It Together this weekend and have a pinafore pattern bring it along, maybe we can make a couple of pinafores over the weekend!

In the know

2010-05-11T21:44:00.004+10:00

Pic from here

Ooh I love learning new things! I 'collect' information the way some people collect stamps and others collect vintage teatowels. I love to know stuff. I like to learn new things. If I find myself wondering about something, I just head straight to my faithful friend Mr Google...but often I get really annoyed at having to wade through a bunch of self promoting websites telling me they have all my answers if only I would sign up to their account/pay a membership fee/join their mailing list/buy their product...when all I really want is to hear from someone who has tried it/bought it/made it. Like, say, a craft blogger!

Well, on Sunday at the Stitches & Craft Show, in Studio 4 at 1.30pm I learned a very useful tip and an easy to find just the information I'm looking for.

Thanks to Jodie, I learned there is a way to search within blogs only, which is a fantastic way to find real information from real bloggers not pushy websites trying to sell you something!
When you open Google look across to top where it says:

Web Images Videos Maps News Books Gmail more

Click on 'more' and select 'blogs' from the drop down menu, and get searching! Thanks Jodie for keeping us all in the know ;)

Mothers Day @ Stitches & Craft Show...

2010-05-10T23:06:00.001+10:00

does it get any better than this?

My day began with real coffee and honey toast earnestly prepared by the kids, and loads of presents, not least of which was a pen and ink drawing of yours truly. I queried the 4 year old artist about the *ahem* detail in the picture..."That's your boobies Mummy" he grinned at me. I was desperately afraid to ask for any more detail but was thankfully assured it was my belly button. Phew! And then I had a lovely day at the show with The Junior Crafter and my very crafty Granny (who lives in Perth so it's always a treat to see her!).

I met up with an old friend, Carolyn and a new friend, Carmel and we went to Jodies talk in The Studio which was fab! Do you know Jodie? Have you heard Jodie talk before about something she is really passionate about? Like Craft? Or maybe blogging? Well, today she was talking about both and her level of enthusiasm almost put a rent in the space-time continuum (and almost got her told off again by the ever so sensible business type fellow giving a very serious and dignifed talk in the Studio next door!). Anyway the talk was funny and entertaining and informative and really quite inspiring...a bit like the girl herself really *grin* I made a little purchase at the RicRac stand, very exciting.

I ran into Bec and had a bit of a catch up at Nikki's stand, while Bec's daughter and my daughter sized each other up, liked what they saw and wandered off to draw some pictures together for the storywall. Saw Nikki of course, (and the other Nikki!) and admired the beautiful bags and hats, and oh my gosh, I really wanted to get a kit and make one of her gorgeous purses but there were too many choices and I didn't know what I could do (not having actually made any purses before and not being at all good with zips or those metal closing thingys!) and I got so overwhelmed by choice I didn't choose anything at all, and now I'm kicking myself VERY HARD because I wish I had bought a kit to take to S.I.T. next weekend where there will be plenty of crafty girls on hand to help me if I get stuck! Not to mention Nikki herself will be there! Doh!

I introduced myself to Caitlin of Pippijoe who was lovely and who's fabric designs I have admired for quite some time! I just missed Liesl but will be admiring an iron with her next Friday over a little glass of something bubbly and at a certain crafty girl's place.

It was heaven on a stick for a crafty-bloggy girl and has made me more excited about Sew It Together which is only a week away!

Anyone going to the Stitches and Craft show tomorrow?

2010-05-08T07:56:00.000+10:00

I'm going to the Stitches and Craft Show tomorrow, with the Junior Crafter and my gorgeous Granny Margaret the original Queen of Craft. I'm so looking forward to it, but of course I am a wee bit disappointed I couldn't go yesterday and meet up with all the lovely bloggers who were there and also wishing I could have gone on Wednesday and met up with Kate and Vic at Jodie's stall!
Soooo I'm wondering who is planning to go tomorrow that we might run into? I'm really looking forward to the show!

PS Happy Mothers Day for tomorrow everyone.

Sew Darn Cute - Book review

2010-05-02T16:54:00.000+10:00

I have just been given a copy of Jenny Ryan's Sew Darn Cute, and it seems to be aptly named, the projects are very cute. The book contains 30 projects, ranging from things for the home to kids stuff to totes. There are a lot of projects suitable for beginners in this book, but as mum to a junior crafter (aged 8) what I really like is that there are heaps of projects in here suitable for us to sew together.There is a Tools and Techniques section at the front of the book which I found to be a useful reference and would be particularly good for beginner sewers I think. The book contains all the templates you need to complete the projects as well.

I'm off to try to rescue 'Sew Darn Cute' from my daughter's bedside table so I can make a start on a project!

Quote of the day

2010-04-21T22:59:00.000+10:00

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. - Winnie the Pooh

I think Pooh Bear has seen my long To Do list...

Cake. Believe it...or not.

2010-04-06T21:31:00.000+10:00

When I was little it was the done thing to bring a delicious cake or cupcakes to kinder on one's birthday. All the little kinder friends would gather around, sing a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday To You (you look like a monkey...aaaaaaand you smell like one too), and share in the deliciousness of a homemade chocolate cake or a marbled rainbow cake.

These days, it seems, things are a little different. Birthday cake poses a genuine risk for children with allergies, but also suffers because it doesn't fit in with the healthy food picture that we try to paint for our preschoolers.

These days (at my son's preschool, at least) the children still sing 'Happy Birthday' but the candles they blow out are glued precariously to the top of a strange looking 'cake' made from plaster of paris turned out of an ice cream container mold. This 'cake' has been decorated with a liberal amount of fleurescent paint and wildly sprinkled with glitter and confetti, but it's been around for a good many years and is starting to look a bit sad and sorry and not quite as festive as a preschooler might expect on his or her birthday!

So, my son's kinder teacher recently* asked me if I would make them a new 'fake cake', and of course I got on to it immediately.
By recently I mean sometime around July last year...but who's counting?

So here it is. I hope it was worth the wait! It is decorated with real fondant over two polystyrene 'cake' rounds. The candle holders are set into the top of the cake so the appropriate number of candles can be inserted for the birthday child. The cake has been hot glued onto the board and I'm hoping that once the fondant has set rock hard the whole thing will last a couple of years!

Drawstring bag from a skirt

2010-04-02T20:23:00.000+11:00

Today I whipped up a little thrifted drawstring bag for my daughter's tap shoes.
I found this gorgeous skirt at my local op shop recently for 50c and I thought the fabric was so pretty it would be just right for a little dance shoes bag.

Loosely inspired by this tutorial I simply cut a rectangle of fabric from the middle of the skirt making sure to include the pretty ruffles (4 pieces of fabric including the lining). I turned and sewed a simple casing along the top edge, turned it all right sides together and stitched around it! I then used a scrap of ribbon from my stash for the drawstring. So simple and pretty!

Name Tags Flickr Group

2010-03-26T16:05:00.000+11:00

Sheridan has started a Flickr group for posting pics of the Sew It Together name tags, head on over here to have a look at what some very crafty girls have come up with, and post your own pics as well!
(Warning, names have been obscured to protect identities!)

Attention swappers, the bar has been set!

2010-03-11T08:39:00.000+11:00

I received an email yesterday from Andi to say that her name tag has finished and posted! Less than 20 hours after she received her swap email! I think Andi has set a new world record for completing a swap in the shortest time ever, and the name tag is gorgeous, click here to have a peek.

Super impressive I say, I haven't even planned my name tag yet!

Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking - Fig & Rocket Salad

2010-03-10T18:05:00.001+11:00

I needed to use up some beautiful figs before they spoiled, and also had to take something to my Mum's place for a last minute get together, so did a spot of Choose Your Own Adventure cooking.

What I found in the Fridge and Pantry:

Fresh figs

Rocket

Danish Fetta

Olive oil
Honey
Cashews

Method (snicker, making it up as I go along):

Quarter the figs, toss them for about 2 minutes in a frypan with a splash of olive oil and a drizzle of honey. Turn off the pan and leave the figs in the warm honey mix.

Throw the Rocket in a bowl, place figs on the Rocket.

Break the Danish Fetta into small chunks and sprinkle over the Figs.

Sprinkle a handful of unsalted cashews over.

Pour the olive oil and honey mix from the pan over the salad.

I thought it would need a dressing (which I didn't have, eek!) but actually it was really nice without one. The nutty/peppery flavour of the Rocket was a beautiful contrast to the sweet Figs and honey, the Danish Fetta added some creaminess and the cashews gve it a little bit of crunch!

It was really delicious, I'll be making this one again next time I can get Fresh Figs!

Name Tag Swap update

2010-03-09T23:51:00.001+11:00

Hello Swappers!

All the emails have been sent detailing who you are to make a name tag for, so check your inbox! If you signed up for the swap and you have not received an email from me, check your junk mail folder first and if it's not there email me and let me know!

This swap is a bit different in that you are not being 'paired up' with a swap partner and actually swapping name tags with that person. You will make a name tag for one person, and another person will make your name tag. So you won't know who is making your name tag until your parcel arrives in the mail, how exciting!

Don't forget the RED & AQUA colour theme for the name tags, and remember all finished name tags must be posted by 9th April 2010.

Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask, I'm here to help.

The Storm and a Wedding Day

2010-03-08T11:07:00.000+11:00

On Saturday, The Bloke and I were heading off to celebrate a family wedding in South Melbourne and looking forward to a night in a fancy-pants hotel followed by a lovely sleep-in, late checkout and a leisurely brunch before heading home to the hills.

I had somehow pulled off the seemingly impossible task of arranging to have all 3 kids looked after overnight, and it was to be our first night away together in about 4 years.

I had my hair done, bought a new frock, and was feeling very glam and excited as we set off. We were so thrilled to be able to share in this very special family wedding.

Then the storm hit.

We were on Toorak Road when the hailstorm hit us, we pulled over and sheltered in the car. The hailstones were about as big as large marbles and sounded very scary hitting the car, I was terrified our windows were going to break. After the storm eased, we spent the next 30 minutes or so trying to find a road that was not flooded that would get us to the Church on time. We were having no luck, everywhere was flooded.

We were trying Swan Street when my sister called (she was at our place looking after the Junior Crafter and Poor Point 3). My sister took the kids into the hallway and shut all the doors to protect them from flying glass as the windows were broken by hailstones larger than golfballs. She said the windows were smashed, there was glass everywhere and rain pouring in. At one point she opened the hall door into the kitchen to see what was going on and a large hailstone flew in a broken window past her head and down the hallway!

This photo was taken by my neighbour

We turned around and came home immediately, but I knew it would be at least an hour before we made it home. I called my brother who was only 5 minutes away and he went straight to our house and started the clean up and boarding up the windows.

We arrived home to find:
11 broken windows (in our house and bungalow)
Weatherboards damaged by hail
The shed wall damaged by hail
Our Colourbond roof looks like someone has taken to it with a large hammer
Skylight broken and leaking water into the bathroom

My car (which was in the driveway) has hail damage to 7 panels, but luckily no broken windows so it is still driveable.

I am still unable to contact my insurance company.

We didn't make it to the wedding. We called the hotel and told them what had happened and asked if they might transfer our booking to another night (they sounded doubtful and said they would call me back this week). We ordered take away and stayed in feeling very grateful that it wasn't worse, devastated that we missed the wedding and just a tiny bit disappointed about missing our night away.

I called the mother of the groom and explained what had happened and was relieved to find out that the wedding went off without a hitch and the happy couple still enjoyed their special day despite the storm going on outside.
Congratulations Pete & Beck, we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness, and wish we could have been there.

Name Tag Swap Progress Report

2010-03-05T22:36:00.000+11:00

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Sew It Together Name Tag Swap! There has been a fabulous response, I'm really thrilled that so many of you want to join in and I am so looking forward to arriving at Sew It Together and seeing all the fabulous handmade name tags, I really am.
I must apologise that I am running a little behind my initial schedule - I have extended the sign up period until tomorrow and I plan to finalise swap partners on Sunday night so you should receive an email by Monday to let you know who you are making a name tag for.

Happy Long Weekend everyone! (if you live in Melbourne that is...sorry interstaters!)

The First Birthday

2010-03-03T19:43:00.000+11:00

My little man, referred to on this blog as Poor Point 3 or PP3, had his first birthday last week! We celebrated at home with a little afternoon tea for family and one or two close friends, it was lovely (apart from my constant state of shock that an entire year has gone by since he arrived!). Although I shouldn't really be surprised, he arrived after a 2 hour labour and his nickname at home is 'Speedy'!

The Birthday Cake, made by me.

PP3 is the sunniest, happiest little boy you would ever see. He is already walking, he is trying to talk and already has lots of words tucked away in his vocabulary, his favourites being 'more', 'book' 'milk' and 'Dee' which for some reason is the word he uses to refer to both his big brother and big sister (neither of whose names sound remotely like 'Dee').

Happy Birthday my gorgeous boy xx

How to make things Stiff with Curlypops

2010-03-02T20:01:00.000+11:00

The great Sew It Together name tag swap is underway, and one of the challenges with making a name tag out of fabric is how to keep it Stiff...so to speak. Nobody wants their name tag flopping about limply on a lapel! So the very talented and lovely Curlypops set about investigating 'all things stiffening' and was gracious enough to write the following 'guest post' here for all our 'swappers' about the benefits of using fabric stiffeners. Thanks so much Cam, we are very grateful to you for sharing your, er, 'stiffy' expertise!

So to begin with, lets all chuckle that I'm going to give you some tips on 'How to make things Stiff'... and leave poor Gypsy to receive lots of weird and wonderful blog visitors from random google searches about all things stiff!

The great thing about the name tag swap, is that we can all think outside the square and do a bit of experimentation (if we choose to). The piece only needs to function as a name tag. It's not an item that is designed to be washed, and doesn't have to serve a particular function (apart from pinning or clipping on, and displaying a name).... which means that there's lots more options for running amok and not playing by the normal rules.

I tried and tested lots of different things, so I thought I'd share what I've learned.

I like to make mess and get covered in paint and glue, so if this sounds like you, then the following options might be fun.

There are lots of liquid type items that can be used to stiffen things (fabric, paper etc). Most of my experimentation has used fabric, as that is currently my favourite medium to work with. I started out with things that I already had around the house:

Please note:

If you choose to use liquid stiffeners, they take a really loooooong time to dry. This might be quite frustrating for a small project.

I've tried dipping fabric pieces in a bowl full of these liquids but they end up quite gluggy. I've had the best result by just brushing them on with a paint brush and then waiting for them to dry. If the finished item is not stiff enough when dry, you can add another layer with the brush.

Water Based Varnish

I've used the Jo Sonja's craft varnishes and also Cabots Crystal Clear from the hardware shop. Both do the same job - Cabots is more economical if you're using litres at a time (which is probably not going to happen), but it's also likely that you might find some in your garage or garden shed.

PVA Glue

Watered down PVA glue also works quite well. About two thirds PVA glue to one third water makes a nice mix.

Fabric Stabiliser

I've tried Sew Stable Fabric Stabiliser which is designed for applique and machine embroidery.

It worked quite well but this is actually supposed to wash out, so don't use it for something that you would like to permanently stiffen.

Fabric Stiffener

I actually found out about this product just simply by googling fabric stiiffener. It suspiciously smells exactly the same as pva glue..... a rose by another name perhaps?

It's designed to stiffen permanently - my advice is to wear old clothes in case of spillage.

The brand that I've tested is Craft Smart Fabric Stiffener, but I've had a tip that there's another one named Stiffy which is really good (I just have to track it down).

Varnishes can be purchased from hardware shops - Stabiliser and Stiffener can be purchased at Spotlight (look in the craft section amongst the various glues and paints).

Fusible Interfacings

Now of course if you'd prefer not to make a huge mess and end up covered in glue and varnish, but still want to get the stiff look, then maybe iron-on fusible interfacings might be a better option.

I don't have much experience with using these but I have have seen the results of lovely things that have been made with them - Vilene S320 - http://nicolemdesign.blogspot.com/2009/12/slightly-besotted-and-gushy.html

Laminating

Last but not least, I thought I'd test out my laminator, to see what would happen if I tried to laminate fabric. I have a home laminator which is not designed for heavy card, only plain paper.

I tested it out with an offcut from a crocheted tablecloth, a stripey piece of light cotton fabric, a piece of black felt, and a piece of heavy brown fabric.

The light cotton fabric and the felt laminated quite nicely, but it didn't work so well for my other two samples.

I hope this have given you some new ideas to try out, and remember to have some fun with it!

My Creative Space...or is it?

2010-02-25T10:38:00.000+11:00

My Creative Space this week isn't really mine, I was more than happy to share it with my beautiful daughter and her friend.
I recently discovered this excellent tutorial over at Leonie's and I thought it would be a perfect project for my Junior Crafter to try with her new machine. We went to Spotlight where she and a friend each selected two fabrics for their reversible headbands and we came home to sew.

Pinning fabric

More pins

Ta-Daaaah!

And they are reversible!

Thanks Leonie for sharing the tutorial, and well done to two gorgeous little 8 year olds who persisted carefully with their cutting out, pinning, topstitching and thread trimming and had a wonderful time in My Creative Space this week. I'm so glad that my little girl loves making stuff as much as I do, and we have so much fun making stuff together.

For more spaces, visit here. As always, thanks to Kirsty for hosting this fun meme.

Name Tag Swap - housekeeping

2010-02-24T21:18:00.001+11:00

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Sew It Together Name Tag Swap, I'm thrilled that so many people will be taking part in this fun swap!

Just a little housekeeping - if you signed up for the swap, can you please now send me an email and tell me:
*Your first name as you would like it to appear on your name tag, eg, Jennifer/Jen/Jenny/Jennie

*Your postal address which I will pass on to your swap partner so she can send you your completed name tag

*The name of your blog (just so I know who you are!)

My email address is thecraftgypsy [at] iprimus [dot] com [dot] au
Also if you know anyone who is going to Sew It Together who hasn't signed up, please mention the swap to them so they don't miss out!

Sign ups close on 28th February.

Sew It Together Name Tag Swap

2010-02-21T11:54:00.006+11:00

Are you going to Sew It Together? Would you like to arrive at this exciting event wearing a very special, lovingly handmade NAME TAG of your very own? You would? Sign up for the swap here! Yes, that's right, I am hosting a Name Tag Swap for anyone who is going to Sew It Together in May.

Guidelines for the swap are as follows:
Name tags are to be no larger than 9cm in any direction (shape is up to you)

Name tags will include first name only. Make sure you email me and let me know how your name should appear on your name tag, we don't want any spelling errors!!! (Blog names will be included on the access pass you will be issued with at the event so will not be part of the name tag swap, name tags will be first name only).

Name tags should be in the colours Red and Aqua to tie into the colour theme of Sew It Together.

Name tags must have a safety pin or brooch finding on the back. They will most likely be attached to a 15mm wide lanyard which will be issued to participants at the event. Preferably the pin should be vertical for ease of attaching to the lanyard, however if the dimensions of your name tag require it then the pin can be fixed horizontally

You can make your name tag using any medium you like, however, as this event is SEW It Together the only thing we ask is that your name tag be sewn/stitched in some way :) Get creative! Think fabric, yarn, embroidery, applique, transfers, stitch sketching, squares, circles, flowers, quilting, stencilling, crochet, ribbons, buttons, paint...use anything you like as long as it is sewn in some way!

You will be given the name of the person you are making a tag for, but sshhh, don't tell them! It's a secret until it arrives in the post! And of course, you won't know who is making YOUR name tag until it arrives! What fun!

Completed name tags are to be posted directly to your recipient no later than FRIDAY 9TH APRIL to allow time for postal delivery before people begin packing up to make the trek to Melbourne! If for some reason you cannot post your completed name tag by this date, please let me know immediately, I'm happy to help in any way that I can to make sure everyone gets their name tag in time for the event!

This swap is only for bloggers who are attending at least one event at Sew It Together in May 2010.

If you want to join the swap, leave a comment on this post. Don't forget to also drop me an email with all your details which I will pass on to the person who will make your name tag.

Please read the guidelines of the swap carefully and only participate if you are happy to abide by them, and PLEASE make sure I can contact you via email! Any questions? Ask away, I'm here to help!

Sign ups start now and will close on Sunday 28th February. I will contact each of you via email by Tuesday 2nd March and tell you who you will be making a name tag for. Get creative and have fun!!!

Did you miss me?

2010-02-18T22:33:00.000+11:00

Hello lovely Bloggy friends, I'm back! I have been lost at sea for the last couple of weeks, drowning in an ocean of ballet classes, family birthdays, working bees, immunisation schedules, a family member's health crisis, daily readers, renovation plans, a new baby cousin, meal plans, kinder orientation, earth moving contractors, tennis lessons and all the other madness that makes up my daily life!

Recent creativity at Chateau Craft Gypsy: not much! (unless you count my creativity in ~~cramming~~ scheduling at least 8 days worth of activities for 3 children into each week). I still haven't ~~started~~ finished the safety vests for kinder, my granny square is still in a bag awaiting some attention, but I did manage to throw together this last minute library bag for a dear little girl's 4th birthday last week.

And I am working on another fun little project with a bloggy friend which we will be announcing very soon, stay tuned for that!

More on the safety vests

2010-02-05T18:14:00.000+11:00

Not surprisingly I'm still struggling a bit with sewing vinyl onto nylon!

This is the pocket I'm sewing on; the angled bit sticking out to the right will work like an envelope flap and will be tucked in to keep the Information Card in place, so it can't slide out of the pocket opening.

The first challenge was how to keep the vinyl pocket in place on the vest in order to sew it. I can't pin it as the pins will leave holes in the vinyl, but blu-tack seems to work fine! Only, I can't put blu-tack on the vest itself as it doesn't come off (found that out the hard way, lucky it's a sample vest!), but the paper template is stuck to the vest with sticky tape, and the vinyl pocket is stuck to the paper with blu-tack. Can anyone say "complicated"?

Here is the vinyl pocket in place, ready for sewing.

When I went to Spotlight for materials (and advice) I was assured that I did not need a special foot to sew thin clear vinyl, apparently it will 'glide right through as the feed dogs are underneath'. I have done a little bit of research, and thought I may have to buy a teflon foot, but was again assured that my regular foot would be fine. Fail.

Have you met my old friend Quick Unpick?

A quick fix was in order as I was not driving back to Spotlight to buy a teflon foot. Some powder, although a bit messy, did the trick.

With some powder on the vinyl it did glide under the foot for much better results (and wiped off pretty easily too).

I also discovered that reverse stitching to lock the threads is a bad idea when sewing with vinyl. Instead, I pulled the top thread through to the wrong side and tied off the threads before trimming.

Here is the 'envelope flap' out...

And tucked in to stop the card falling out.

So now I have the method sorted on the sample vest, only 60 more to go. Wish me luck!

My Creative Space

2010-02-04T08:12:00.000+11:00

My Creative Space this week is filled with fluorescent nylon vests, metres of clear vinyl, and some upholstery thread.

Our kinder has just acquired 60 Preschool sized Fluorescent Safety Vests for the children to wear in case of an emergency evacuation. (We live in a very high risk area for bushfires so evacuation is a real possibility). Each child has an Emergency Information Card displaying their name and containing inside all their personal information that they must wear during an emergency. Previously they have been worn on a lanyard around the neck (which did create some safety issues in itself). However, now that we have these very bright safety vests, each child's card can be attached to the vest itself. The (fairly expensive) vests were the bright idea of The Bloke Who Lives At My Place, and were acquired courtesy of a local government grant. Upon enquiring at a few alterations businesses he was quoted $660 to have a clear vinyl pocket sewn onto the back of the vests. $660!!! Don't worry, I said, I'm sure I can do it.

I'll keep you posted. Thansk for hosting Kirsty! For more Creative Spaces, click here.

Fruit Cobbler

2010-02-02T20:05:00.002+11:00

Made with fresh nectarines from a dear friend's tree (thanks J.B.!)

This is a recipe of mine originally created from a Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking session, now I use it often, you can use any fresh stone fruit, or use tinned fruit if that's what you have on hand!

Cream 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of sugar.
Add alternately 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup plain flour & 3/4 teaspoon bicarb sifted in with the flour.
Add a small dash of vanilla extract.
Spread the mixture into a greased pie dish:

Next, add your fruit. I used nectarines. Just place them on top of the base mixture. The flesh of the nectarines looked a little green but they tasted lovely and sweet, definitely ripe. Maybe it's the type of nectarine?

Sprinkle some brown sugar and some shredded coconut on top (sorry, I'm a bit vague about the quantities...not very much, okay? Like in the pic! It's probably a heaped tablespoon or so of brown sugar, and about the same of coconut. I think. Lol. I'm clearly not qualified to hand out recipe advice!)

Bake it at 200 degrees C for about 20-25 minutes. If the middle is still gooey, it's not ready. If the crust is burnt, you cooked it too long!

I was planning to take a lovely shot of it when it came out of the oven looking all golden delicious, but I was too slow. It's the quick and the dead around here after dinner! I managed to shove some kiddies out of the way and take this pic for you:

It's delicious served warm with ice cream. Yum!

Flea Market Finds

2010-01-31T20:22:00.001+11:00

Today I'm joining in with Sophie's lovely Sunday Meme, Flea Market Finds. I am lucky enough to live across the road from a great little Op Shop, and love to pop my head in and scout for new treasures when I'm walking to the shops to get milk. It's a tiny, poky little shop, I can barely get the pram in the front door, but I always find a little treasure or two to take home.
This week I found this little bundle of goodies for the princely sum of $2.

Two gorgeous vintage books; I especially love Johnny and Sophie by the river, it's too divine. A little bag of assorted Anchor perle embroidery threads and the three rolls at the bottom of the picture are Crochet threads, perfect for when I master my Granny!

Thanks Sophie for hosting this delightful Meme. For more finds, pop over to Sophie's place.

Haiti Relief

2010-01-31T10:34:00.000+11:00

The crafty community has been doing lots to raise funds for the people of Haiti who's country has been devastated by terrible earthquakes. I just wanted to draw your attention to two more super bloggy fundraisers for Haiti that you should check out.

The ever lovely and super talented Kate is auctioning off the most darling little bunny you have ever seen here with all proceeds to go to Haiti relief.

Clever Cath is selling a super cute doggy here with proceeds to go to Haiti relief.

Visit them! Support the cause!

My Place And Yours - Shoes!

2010-01-30T19:02:00.003+11:00

Shoes! Shoes, shoes, shoes. I *heart* shoes! I told Vic I loved them, and she thought we should share the love and picked me to be this week's -da da da daaaaaa- Theme Queen!

So here are my current favourite pair of shoes:

Aren't they sweet? I think they are a little bit fifties and very glam. I love them!

I bought them in December to wear to a wedding. I had already bought a dress, a little black number with a cream coloured satin sash just under the bust which tied in a lovely bow at the back, and thought I would wear a nice pair of black strappy heels I had already. The day before the wedding I was walking past a shoe store when I spied these shoes on the Clearance Table at the front of the store. The last pair, in my size, half price. Who am I to argue with fate? I bought them. I love them. They looked FAB with the dress. These shoes and I are a perfect match.

If you are getting about in heels, you should definitely get yourself some "Party Feet", they help your feet to feel better even if you are dancing the night away!

Thanks Vic for letting me be this weeks Theme Queen. To check out more Shoes at My Place And Yours, visit Punky & Me.

What fun!

2010-01-29T12:33:00.000+11:00

I went to my first Northern Craft Bonanza last night. I thought I would have to procure some fake ID with a more Northerly address just to get in (me not being from the North and all) but Cathy assures me that the night is open to anyone and made me feel very welcome!

There were lots of lovely peeps, plenty of coffee and chais going around, loads of chat, catching up and exchange of ideas, and of course a little bit of crafting too!

There was some lovely knitting...

Beccasaurus was covering some buttons... (do you think she needs to cover that cleavage as well? Sorry Bec, I'll do better with the camera angle next time!)

The very lovely Lara from Thornberry brought these gorgeous snoods that she had whipped up... (if that doesn't inspire a girl to master the art I don't know what will!)

Liesl was crocheting with the most delicious looking chocolate yarn I've ever seen...

And Curlypops was making tags for her gorgeous gadget pouches (and a sale or two as well!)...

I took along my pitiful crochet attempts and was lucky enough to get some instruction and handy tips from Liesl and Lara. Liesl most helpfully agreed with me when I stated that I had just made the world's worst crochet chain, and patiently waited for me to unravel and start again. More than once. Lara had some fab tips about 'blocking' which I'm hoping will make my 'Granny' more 'Square'.

The Bonanza is on fortnightly, hope to see you there.

My Creative Space

2010-01-28T11:52:00.003+11:00

ooray, Thursday's Creative Space is back for 2010, thank you Kirsty for hosting this fab meme!

Today I'm getting creative with numbers. Do you think The Bloke Who Lives At My Place will notice the new column in this year's family budget?
To check out more Creative Spaces pop over to Kirsty's.

Round 1

2010-01-25T11:32:00.003+11:00

Hurrah! Here is my first completed (if somewhat wonky) round of a Granny Square! Thanks Pip for the very excellent video tutorials, you have completely demystified the art of crochet for me.

(Note: before proceeding, please stand up from your chair and take 3 paces backwards; this picture is best viewed from afar so as to admire the greatness of my overall achievement, and not look too closely at the unevenness of the stitches, the general wonky-ness and the strange 'roundness' of the 'square'! Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.)

My next attempt was somewhat more square looking, but I'm not sure what has happened in the top left corner where I've tried to join up with the start.

Progress

2010-01-25T08:15:00.002+11:00

After finding crochet to be mostly frustrating and not at all fun or productive as I was hoping, I was nearly ready to throw in the ~~towel~~, er, hook. Then I discovered that the wonderful Pip is now head tutor at 'Granny Square School' so I signed up, and I'm away!

Now that I'm holding my yarn correctly (Lesson 2) I'm finding that my chains are much easier to make (Lesson 3). I'm practising chaining until I'm confident about my tension and technique, then will move onto Lesson 4.

Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking

2010-01-24T23:12:00.000+11:00

I discovered late this evening that there were 6 very overripe peaches and nectarines in my fruit bowl that I did not want to waste, so I decided that dessert was in order. I did think of searching online for an appropriate recipe, but then thought it's been a while since I've done some Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking! I love Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking: I start out with an ingredient (overripe stonefruit in this case) and a vague idea (dessert) and just start chopping and throwing things into pots. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a great lesson in what not to do. Tonight, it seems, it worked! The result: Fruit Tartlets.

Method (snicker, if you can call it that)

Roughly chop stone fruit and throw into pot.

Add sparkling white wine (because that's what is open in the fridge) and a small quantity of raw sugar.

Simmer.

Forage in kitchen for other suitable ingredients.

Add small handful of blueberries and sultanas, a pinch of cinnamon and a drop of vanilla extract.

Muse over what on earth could be done next with quantity of stewed fruit.

Following suggestion by The Bloke Who Lives At My Place, search for pastry.

Discover shortcrust pastry in freezer. Excellent. Line tartlet tine with pastry.

Fill pastry rounds with stewed fruit.

Rummage in pantry for suitable toppings as not enough shortcrust pastry to cut rounds for lids.
Top with a mixture of hazlenut meal and brown sugar. Inspired!

Bake at 200degrees C for about 10 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream. Mmm delicious.

All's well that ends well, thanks for sharing my cooking adventures! Do you like to cook 'on the fly'? Make it up as you go along? What daring adventures have you had in the kitchen lately?

Beautiful Butterfly

2010-01-24T16:42:00.000+11:00

Look what the Junior Crafter found

And no matter how many times she let it go in the garden, it just kept coming back to her! I think it's a bit magical to have a butterfly choose you over a garden full of flowers!

My Place and Yours

2010-01-23T13:10:00.001+11:00

I'm joining in with a lovely meme this week called My Place And Yours, formerly hosted by the very crafty Pip, now rehoused at Vic's little corner of blogland :) The theme this week is 'What I'm Reading'.

Here's what I'm trying to read:

I love Jodi Picoult, I've read most of her books. Harvesting the Heart explores the nature of ambivalent motherhood, and is the emotional tale of a new mother, Paige, trying to come to terms with motherhood when she didn't know her own mother. Some of Picoult's descriptions of the overwhelming and confused feelings of a new mother trying to take care of a newborn and feeling completely out of her depth rang so true for me that I wondered if the author had read my diary. I'm loving it. I'd even like to finish it.

Yes, this sophisticated and oh so grown up novel is what I'm trying to read...

This is what I actually end up reading most days at my place:

Not so sophisticated, but funny, sometimes rhyming and definitely noisier! (10 Little Rubber Ducks has a little ducky squeaker inside the back cover, too cute).

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle is a beautiful tale about a shipment of 10 rubber ducks that gets lost overboard during shipping. The Rubber Ducks each go in different directions, and the last little rubber duck gets adopted by a family of real ducks!

There's a Sea in my Bedroom by Margaret Wild, Illustrated by Jane Tanner tells the story David, a little boy who is frightened of the sea. When David takes a conch shell home, a sea appears in his bedroom and helps David overcome his fears.

Slinky Malinki by Lynley Dodd is a very well worn favourite in our house.

Slinky Malinki was blacker than black,

a stalking and lurking adventurous cat.

He had bright yellow eyes,a warbling wail,

and a kink at the end of his very long tail."

(Yes I can recite the entire book from memory. Don't look so impressed, I have after all been reading it almost daily for the past eight years). Lynley Dodd of course wrote the Hairy Maclary series - if you have young children and you don't know these books, you should!

Thanks Vic for hosting this fun meme!

Learning something new

2010-01-21T22:07:00.000+11:00

A couple of weeks ago on my weekend away, my Mum very patiently tried to teach me the basics of Crochet. It seemed simple enough, and the instructions were clear. I'm actually finding it's a bit tricky - sshh, don't tell anyone. I'll keep practising.

Cooking up a storm

2010-01-17T21:25:00.000+11:00

Today I've been cooking up a storm:

Beer bread, the easiest bread recipe I've ever made, less than 5 minutes and it was in the oven!

Sweet Potato & Chick Pea Dip, this is a really healthy snack for the kids to have with crackers and carrot sticks, and it's so yummy.

I also made these scrum-diddly-umptious Strawberry Muffins and I just couldn't wait to share this super easy recipe with you, link to recipe here.

Thanks also for all your kind messages re my last post, Poor Point 3 is now completely recovered and sleeping soundly once more :)

Somebody cheer me up!

2010-01-15T18:30:00.000+11:00

Oh it's been a long week here at Chateau Craft Gypsy. I have been nursing a sick baby, and trying (in vain) to entertain two bored school holidayers who can't have a friend over (might wake sleeping sick baby) can't go out anywhere (sick baby needs to stay home and rest) and can't do anything exciting like sewing or baking (mummy needs to look after the sick baby).

I haven't been crafting, or blogging, or sleeping or anything else I might vaguely enjoy, and last night couldn't go to the Northern Craft Bonanza because said sick baby just needed some mummy-TLC, so is it okay if I just come in here feeling a little sad and sorry for myself?

(I know it's not really that bad, it's just been a loooooong week and I'm soooooo tired.Forgive my little whinge)

Crafternoon

2010-01-10T10:58:00.001+11:00

Had a lovely day on Friday not doing Craft with Liesl. We had planned to do some crafting. I had carefully (and rather ambitiously, as it turns out) packed my Janome and a fairly large container of WIPs into my car, along with a fruit platter and my 3 children who were looking forward to a playdate with Argy & Bargy...wait....aaaaah, now I see the problem. We were outnumbered.

Between us we have 5 delightful young 'uns, who all had a fabulous day eating and drinking and playing ball, chasey, piano, cars, trains, farms and hide and seek. However, I do believe in all our planning we failed to notice one vital factor: It turns out that 5 small children on a playdate and a Crafternoon cannot coexist without disrupting the Space-Time Continuum. Who knew?

However, we managed to admire each other's WIPs talked about my woeful attempts to learn to crochet, and we chatted about all the crafting we would like to be doing,

partake of some delicious Hoppo Bumpo biscuits and a latte,

and we were even invited back despite this disaster created by Poor Point 3 at lunch!

I may have the answer...

2010-01-06T12:11:00.000+11:00

I was reading this post over at the lovely (but not at all sucky) Hoppo Bumpo and realised I may have some valuable information to share with you fellow crafters. If you are after something that really sucks, the answer is ducted vacuuming. It is completely awesome, and sucks better and harder than any other vac I've ever owned. Thread, hair, mushy chewed up vegemite toast, bowling balls, lego pieces, small children...you get the picture? And before you think it's a fanciful and extravagant idea but you couldn't possibly - mine cost less than $1000 and was easily installed in my 90 year old house in half a day, by The Bloke Who Lives At My Place (who usually masquerades as a public servant during daylight hours).

Seriously, best thing I ever did. Now if I could just tear myself away from my WIPs long enough to actually do some housework...

Be Still, My Beating Heart

2010-01-04T21:56:00.000+11:00

Here it is, the amazing gift Mum gave me whilst I was staying with her on the weekend:

It's Kimono Silk. Real Kimono Silk from Japan.

An ENTIRE ROLL, it's 38cm wide by about 18-20 metres long! Isn't it completely gorgeous?

Okay, be still my beating heart. So how did I come to be in posession of such awesome loveliness? Three years ago my uncle married a beautiful Japanese girl, and my mother travelled to Japan to be at the wedding. The bride's parents presented this roll of Kimono silk to Mum at the wedding as a gift from their family. She has had it ever since but had no idea what to do with it, so she has given it to me in the hope that I will make something beautiful with it. Of course I'm terrified to touch it, let alone take to it with scissors, but I do have a dream of it becoming a quilt someday, maybe with matching cushions and a tiny wall hanging?

If you know anything about Kimono Silk I want to hear from you! If you have any idea what I should do with this, or how it should be handled, I'm all ears! I should also say that I am fairly sure it's silk, but it doesn't actually say anywhere on the fabric or packaging. I don't know anything more about it except for this Japanese mark which is stamped on the end of the roll and is also on a tiny piece of tape which held the tissue paper around the fabric. It may be a manufacturers mark, if anyone out there can read it and translate I'd love to know what it says.

Thanks Mum

2010-01-03T18:09:00.000+11:00

My sleepover at Rancho Relaxo was wonderful.

We went out for lunch here. Delicious.

Then back to Mum's for 2 hours of relaxing in the spa with a refreshing drink and a good book:

Followed by a spot of relaxing in front of the fire, listening to some beautiful music, (and I was given a very very special gift by my mum which I will share with you tomorrow)

Then a gourmet meal of Rack of Lamb, Dutch Cream Potatoes pan fried with garlic and rosemary, and steamed beans and carrots.

Some more music and relaxing before heading off to my cosy little bed:

(with a nightcap)

And above my bed were the books of my childhood (and my mum's childhood), aren't they fab?

All topped off by a sleep in 'til 9am. Heavenly. Thanks Mum, it was exactly what I needed xx

Going home to Mother

2010-01-02T12:13:00.000+11:00

I'm off to my Mum's for a lovely girly (child free!) sleepover! The Bloke Who Lives At My Place will be spending some quality time with his little 'uns: The Junior Crafter, Captain Underpants and Poor Point 3, while I will be spending some quality time catching up on some much needed sleep.

Mum and I are going out for lunch, then doing a little spot of shopping, then home to unpack a few boxes (Mum has just moved back into her house after a housefire earlier this year), and spend a little girly time together. I'm hoping Mum will teach me to crochet so I can have a go at one of these. And then I'm having a very early night and hopefully a lovely sleep in...I think the last time I had a decent sleep was around 2001!

A completed project, and an interesting discovery

2010-01-01T21:55:00.002+11:00

It's only the first day of the year and I already have a completed project under my belt! I'm doing a little happy dance on the inside, as I am a chronic starter of craft projects and a very poor finisher of same.

Whilst some of my bloggy friends were able to finish the year with a lovely list of completed projects, I think I was lucky that 2009 didn't actually end up on my UFO/WIP pile! So to start the new year by finishing something is a good omen I think - it's important to start as you mean to go on!

This is an embroidered travel journal cover I made for The Junior Crafter's wonderful Grade 2 teacher who is taking this year off to travel around the world! She has been a brilliant teacher and we felt so lucky that The Junior Crafter was in her class, and she will be greatly missed this year.

As a project, although I was very happy with the end result, it was not all smooth sailing.

When I measured and cut the outer and lining for the journal cover I did not allow enough extra width to cover the seam allowance and the topstitching required to make the pockets for the journal to slip into. So when I stitched the outer and the lining together and turned them right sides out, I had no hope of being able to top stitch the pockets down and still fit the journal in.

So I unpicked. Which took a really long time. And in the end, was not very helpful.

You see, the outer of the journal is a gorgeous piece of vintage linen I found at my local op shop some time ago. As luck would have it, my Gutermann 02776 thread is an exact colour match to the linen, and I very carefully sewed the linen and the lining together using stitch length 1 so as to hold the delicate fabric very securely. Which it did. So the unpicking was a difficult and frustrating affair.

To make matters worse, it didn't even help in the end. I restitched the (now slightly damaged from the seam ripper) vintage linen to the lining using the SCANTEST 1/8 seam allowance, carefully turned it, ironed it to within an inch of its life, and...it still didn't fit :(

After experimenting with elastic, ribbon, matching binding (here is a fab tutorial for using a bias tape maker) I quickly realised that nothing would work, short of starting over, and I had already put so much work into the piecing and the embroidery!

Just then, The Junior Crafter stepped in and saved the day! Why don't you just sew it onto the journal Mum? said she. Because my sewing machine won't sew through a hard book cover darling, I replied. However, with no other options (and plenty of spare needles on hand) I decided to give it a whirl. Which leads me to the interesting discovery: my Janome can sew through four layers of fabric and a hard journal cover!

Forgive the blurry photo, but that is my trusty Janome whizzing through all the layers with ease. And not a broken needle in sight. The moral of the story is always listen to your children, they might be saying something very useful. And there is no limit to what a good sewing machine can handle!

Happy New Year friends xx

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