From Gardening to Bag Making in one Day.

Today was such a lovely day for gardening. The weeds were thick and plentiful, but came out easily. As they were pulled out, lots of lovely little flowers that have been hiding away all winter revealed themselves. A nice way to spend the day.
And tonight I went to Nicole Mallalieu Design HQ for a fabulous workshop. Tonight's lesson was making straps for bags, belts etc. It was loads of fun and informative as well.
Here's what I made, in cheap and cheerful callico. Now that I'm off my L-Plates, I can try them in nice fabric on a bag.

The stitching is a little bit dodgey on this one, but you get the idea. Also the iron left a bit of a stain on the fabric, ah well, its only the test model.

All in all, I'm feeling a bit too clever by half. Can't wait to make some real ones up now.

The First Signs of Spring!

Aaaah the first signs of Spring! And look what has popped up.
That must be my cue to get out in the garden and tackle those weeds. Better tie a rope around my leg so I don't get lost.

Oh I do love to sit and sew.

This week has been a sewing week.... busy in my little cave, whipping up all manner of creations in fabric. Here's what I've been working on.

The first picture features the wrap skirt. This one was made earlier this year, and has been well loved. The pattern is from Nicole Mallaleiu's fabulous new book You Sew Girl!

The book takes you on a journey, with many fun and rewarding projects. Each project teaches new skills, and has you sewing like a pro in no time. I'm really loving the pattern free clothing section. Its like oragami meets sewing! Having fun experimenting with some cowl neck tops, photos to come.....

The wrap skirt is definitely the favourite so far. I've made it up in all manner of fabrics, as birthday presents for various girlfriends. I also made a shorter version for my leggy teenage daughter.
It is my all-time favourite item of clothing. (Well maybe I love the boots more, but the skirt comes close).
The fabric is the most divine hand printed organic linen, from Thea & Sami.
Thea's range of fabrics, homewares and clothing is to die for. Do check our her website.

So what have I made this week. Well there is the beret. The pattern is from Nicole Mallalieu's Quick and Easy range. It really is very quick and easy to make, and it looks amazing.

The fabric is another gorgeous piece of linen. An offcut I scored about seventeen years ago. I'd just dropped in to visit my sister in her studio with toddler and newborn in tow. The gloss of new motherhood took a backseat when I spied the scrap box of one of her neighbours. It was just overflowing with drool-worthy fabrics in reasonable sized pieces. All that could be seen of me were my feet, disappearing into the box. After rolling around in it for a while, and then remembering the kids, and then apologising to their aunt and all her studio mates, I collected quite a stash. And with little ones to sew for, it didn't matter that they were in small pieces.

I was pretty excited about the beret. It was looking fantastic, until it was finished and tried it on. Unfortunately, now that my hair has turned a lovely shade of silver, browns and tans don't really suit me any more. Luckily my gorgeous red-haired friend, Christine looked stunning in it. She didn't want to be photographed today, but will send some pics later.

And finaly, the Fedora. Another pattern from Nicole Mallalieu's fabulous range. This is the first attempt. Its a little bit wonky, but I'm pretty happy with it. As it also looked better on Christine, she got two hats today. The lemon tree was more willing to be photographed, so you'll have to wait to see how lovely my friend looks.

There are a few other projects bubbling away, stay tuned...............

Edith's Lyrebird.

Here is a beautiful film I would like to share. It was written and narrated by the fabulous Jackie Kerin.

Based on a true story about a woman befriended a young male lyrebird. The music is stunning, played by two of our local talented musicians, Greg O'Leary and Michael Stewart.

From River Studios- Pattern Testing Nicole Mallalieu's New A-Line Skirt.

While I've been neglecting blogland of late, other creative ventures have been happening. I've been on a bit of a painting binge, (a nice place to be,> I'll post some pics soon).
But today I have been pattern testing.
Nicole Mallalieu of Nicole Mallalieu Design is about to release a fabulous new skirt pattern. All going well, it should be ready for the Melbourne Quilters Fair. Stay tuned.
This is the first draft. I really like it. Its a great shape, comfy and flattering. Super easy to make, clear instructions with diagrams.
As with all Nikki's patterns, there are tips and hints to improve your sewing skills. It makes the job easier and you learn to sew like a pro as you go. (say that three times quickly).
There is plenty of room for variation, as well as helpful advice on how to add your own bits. I added the panels at the front, but you can add whatever you like. Let your own imagination run wild, go on I dare you.
Nikki has made up a stack of these fabulous skirts, check them out here.

If you happen wander down Newport way...

If you happen wander down Newport way, you will notice a flurry of activity. Excitement is in the air. We're all madly putting the finishing touches on our various contributions to the Newport Folk Festival. We've rehearsed everything that is rehearsable, venues are tidied up, workshops are prepared, equipment is borrowed and tested. We've stocked up on berocca...
Now we can all breathe a deep breath, before we march off like troopers to put on the best festival ever!

P.S. Don't miss the Choirs Festival on Sunday.

Home Again, Home Again............

Ahh...... A day off. Time to take a breath.
Well I can't complain that life is ever dull. Last week's adventure was a trek to Sydney. I worked at the Quilt and Craft Convention, helping my sister, Nikki on her stall.
In the days leading up, it appeared that the planets were misaligned, and the forces that be just didn't want us to go. They even sent a volcanic ash cloud to stop us flying up there. What they didn't reckon on was our genetic pre-disposition to sheer bloody-mindedness and blind optimism.
We trained and bused it up there. Amongst our hiccups were lost credit cards, and all means of communication being cut off. Poor Nikki had to set up the whole thing by herself. Back in Melbourne I waded through queues at the airport, railway station and eventually bus depot, working through every possible way of getting to Sydney.
All's well that ends well, and end well it did. When you are selling a fabulous product, you don't have to work too hard at it. It was such a joy to be able to introduce Nicole Mallalieu Designs to a whole new audience. The stock sold like crazy, we had to courier more up, and call on the help of some fantastic Sydney girls, Cass and Peta.


They jumped straight in and worked like troopers.
By Friday, when I left them, the ash cloud had cleared, (phew). It was a nice smooth flight home.
The kids coped admirably well without me. The house is still standing, the pets are all alive...
And look what popped up while I was gone, brand new baby broad beans, awwwwwwww.

Sweet Bird Of Youth.

While a nice snappy modern novel is fabulous, revisiting the classics something I love to do. And what could be better than catching up with Tennessee Williams now and again.
Sweet Bird Of Youth is the tragic tale of Chance Wayne, a talented, good looking young man, with his eye on stardom. He finds work as a gigilo to aging starlets, hoping to kick start his own career. His taste for flamboyance and excess soon take their toll.
With his latest employer, the wealthy Princess Kosmonopolis, he secretly returns to St Cloud, his home town in the south. Here we uncover the scandal and heartbreak and that sent Chance on the path to self destruction.
Desperate to win back his youth and his first love, Heavenly Finley, he realises that it is all too late. Just like the aging princess, he is past his prime.
A short, sharp play that skewers so much, in just 111 pages.

Awwww........ baby turnips, delicious as they are cute.

My back yard is a turnip farm.

In the excitement of Autumn plantings, I put in two packets of turnip seeds, early purple and swedes. That resulted in about 600 seedlings in the two seed trays.

It surprized me to find that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for turnips. I managed to find homes for about seventeen of them.

Being of a frugal nature, I just couldn't throw them away. As there are so many of them, we have made an early start on eating them. Fabulous, roasted, in stir fries, mashed in with the potatoes......
These are the early purples, the swedes are not quite ready yet.

Blogging again.

It seems like forever since I last wrote on this blog. Struggling with a very slow and unco-operative computer has made it quite difficult.
The garden has undergone a complete make-over. The front yard is looking very bad-haircut at the moment, but will soon be a spectacular mass of flowers.

In the maddness of it all, I forgot to take photos. Fortunately, I have an old photo of another such venture. The wee girl in the background is now a leggy nineteen year old.

The back yard is now a turnip farm. Yes I planted two packets of seeds, and got about 600 seedlings! I managed to find homes for about 17 of them. Being of a frugal nature I had to plow up the back yard and plant them all. There are also broccoli, cabbage, boc-choy, and some left overs from other plantings, silverbeet, rhubarb, rocket, parsley. Even some of my hardy eggplants are hanging in there.

The pumkins are all gone now, when I pulled the last of them out, there were nineteen of these babies left. We've eaten our way through a lot, and given heaps away. We are down to the last three.
We've also eaten our way through several large buckets of artichokes, carrots, eggplants, tomatoes, capsicum, chilli............
So that's the end of the summer stuff, and its onward and upward to the winter fare.