Thrifting finds

Went to the Camberwell Market on Sunday for the first time in ages. I'd forgotten how fun (and big) it is. I had to stop myself from buying more, but got these lovely small things.


And Scarlett finally got her bunny on the weekend. How cute (and tiny) is she? Yep, that bunny ain't big but it sure does look that way next to her.

Pottery

A month or two back a friend and I took a wheel-throwing pottery class, after talking about it for ages. It was a short course - just four classes (and I missed one) but it was enough to remind us of the tricks and techniques we learnt in high school, back in the day.

Man, it can be frustrating trying to get it all working (keeping a piece centred can be a challenge) but when it works/nearly works you get quite a feeling of achievement. Actually, the pieces I like the most so far are wonky, in a quirky kind of way.

I've got various mug-type objects at different stages of completeness (just turned; bisque fired; glazed, ready for final firing) but none are done yet. The suspense of waiting until next week is gonna get me, oh yes.

Polka dots

Have been playing around with polka dot shapes and sizes (and colours) lately, as they're such a fave of mine (am always drawn to dots!). And I always prefer the odd-shaped dot that is irregularly placed in relation to other dots. At least one of these may have been inspired by the large Easter egg I'm sampling whilst trapped inside due to aforementioned rain.

Another inspiration - these shoes...

..which are completely inappropriate given the weather (if it lasts). Sadly they don't make them in my size, boo hoo.

Rain

We here in Melbourne had more rain overnight than we've had all year. Flooded streets are a welcome sight, even though it means my bike gets left behind.

Elephant #31

Welcomed into the world this morning, and going to his new home this afternoon ... finally.



Will he be the last elephant made with one of various borrowed sewing machines, before I finally get my own? Possibly not, as sewing maching-buying is a rather involving (and overwhelming) task - where to start and stop? How many stitches could I possibly use? Which brand is better than the other? And do I really need a computer to sew? Argh!

Relish is delish

OK, so after quite a bit of preparation the night before (cutting 8kg of tomatoes and nearly 3kg of onions into little bits!) I thought yesterday's main activity of relish-making would be a breeze - just cook the stuff, bottle it and be done. Of course it took way longer than expected (9am to 6 or 7pm, I think it was) but I reckon it was worth the effort - it is tasty and will last at least a year (and make a nice gift).

Here's how the day progressed:

Note the Keen's Mustard container - it gives an idea of how big this container is!


That's a lot of jars, and I used all but one of them.


All done!

And while it was bubbling away I tried my hand at some hot cross buns (half currant, half chocolate for Mr. I Don't Eat Dried Fruit). They're from the Delia recipe, as recommended by Loobylu - think I printed the recipe when she made them two years ago but only got around to making them now but it was worth the wait.

Necklace, anyone

One of the other things I made on the weekend is this necklace. I've made a few other jewellery pieces out of coloured clay, but this is my first necklace. It's got a gloss finish on top and has a bit of weight, but I kinda like that.


Also made a mini batch of chutney (toms all chopped up, above) from a Stephanie Alexander recipe, with CERES tomatoes that a friend gave me. It's nice, but I really love the stuff my mum & dad make, so I went back yesterday and bought my own box full. Tomorrow will be fun!

It's a clock

I had a rather crafty weekend, and even got to (nearly) finish everything I started, which is great. There's nothing worse than the project that is started - with enthusiasm and the best of intentions - only to find you've run out of time near the end. And then the project sits, unfinished, until there's time to look at it again, and that can sometimes take months.

Anyway, a friend and I decided to go to Spotlight on Saturday and pick up some fabric, just in case we felt like making something. While wandering the many many aisles just looking at stuff, we discovered clock parts - hands, motors, numbers etc. This sparked an idea that we had discussed previously - "We can make clocks!" And so we did.

They're pretty simple to make (although we managed to stretch it out over hours) and rather fun. I bought some wooden numbers which I then painted white, but I ended up leaving them off mine as they seemed a bit big and clumsy.

Anyway, here's how mine turned out.

The clock hands were originally gold (ick) so I painted the big and little hand with a glossy white enamel, and painted the second hand red.

And the best big - it actually works! Quite a fun project for a 40-ish degree day.

Water.

It's a good thing, especially in 37+ degree heat. Spending some time at the pool reminded me of this.

Elephant #30

Finished another elephant this morning, and from my very rough calculations, it's #30. I love this fabric and found it hard to chop up (a beautiful soft thick cottton), but now that it's all done I'm quite happy with how she turned out. And she's on her way to her new home today!

My Fabric

Photo © Aunty Cookie.

OK, so it's kinda small, but that's my Akzidenz fabric (ABC etc) in the front cushion, made by Aunty Cookie - how exciting! And how great are her fabrics (pretty much all the other fabric). It's the first time (I think) that mine's been used by someone else to make something. It could be enough to motivate me to get onto making more of the above, and the new idea I've got that I've been procrastinating about for ages.

Oh, and these are for sale in Aunty Cookie's Etsy shop, but most of them are already sold.

Finally finished

These two have been hanging around looking forlorn (and somewhat flat) for quite a while, until I realised tonight that they have homes to go to, and they need to get there quick. They look much happier now.

Blossom Bunny

There's nothing like the arrival of a friend's baby to inspire a bit of sewing. So thanks for that Scarlett, and hope you like this Blossum Bunny I made for you. I surely do. (Pattern from Softies, a book I got for Christmas). Lots of hand sewing and learning of new stitches (Hello, French knot, you are my new friend) and very fun to make.