It's Anzac Day, part II

What better way to spend the afternoon than trying to figure out how to make a much needed pin cushion, and one which you've decided must be square (thanks to this sticking in my mind from when I first saw it.)

It took a few shots to get it right (ie: actually square - well, almost square) but it seemed to work out OK in the end, and has been put to use already. And now it's dark outside and it's not even 6pm - darn the fact that the days are getting shorter.

Oh, and the fabric is a mix of a couple of brilliant Aunty Cookie designs, that just happen to be printed in the same colour ink and with the same basecloth (totally matching). The bottom is a woolen felt, a mottled grey (my fave, not that you can actually see it!).

It's Anzac Day

Finally finished a batch of elephants, here are the last two. Not a bad way to spend a public holiday morning, but now it's definitely time for a coffee.


And I got these the other day:

Saw them when in Tassie earlier this year (they're made from Tasmanian wood, I believe), but failed to buy them and have regretted it ever since. Fortunately Wilkins and Kent - which is a little closer to home - also stocks them. It'll be nice to knit with wooden needles, which I've never tried before. And, of course, the polka dots rock.

Land of softies

Had the urge to make some mini-softies yesterday, inspired by some Auntie Cookie fabric I got recently, and some old screen printing of mine that I found. Welcome to the land of mini softies, it looks like a fun place to be. These guys are small (think: pin cushion size), and backed with polka dotted fabric.

And this is Elephant #34, made from some lovely Japanese 'letters, numbers and keys' fabric from a recent fabric shopping expedition.

Potting and poaching

OK, so the reason I starting this blog in the first place was to kinda document the sewing/printing I was doing, so I didn't forget it all. I don't seem to have done any of that for ages and ages (or not much, anyway) - I wonder if that's because I spend too much time doing other things, like poaching delicious seasonal fruit (this time: helllo quinces) and working on my new-found love of pottery. Hmm.

Wool wool wool

Last weekend I went along to the open day of Fibre Red in Fitzroy, home to lovely handmade knitted clothing. The studio is amazing, as you can see below, and along with a skirt I picked up some more wool. Love the colour, it might end up as a scarf and arm warmers.


Another elephant also made an appearance over the weekend. Love the polka dots.

New & old

Elephant #32

Elephant #33

These are made with lovely Aunty Cookie fabric & polka dot ears (top) and delightful Lotta Jansdotta fabric (bottom) and I don't think they're going anywhere in a hurry as I want to keep them!

Now I need to get onto some orders, to be made with recent purchases from Patchwork on Central Park, just about the best shop ever.


And I recently found this tea towel I made, stashed away with a heap of other stuff. It serves as a good reminder that I need to get on to doing more screen printing. It's messy, yes, and things go wrong, yes, but it's darn fun. Now just need to find some good cotton, non-drill &/or linen fabric to print onto - no easy task, I'm sure, based on previous searches.

Pottering around

Finally got some of my pottery back with its final glaze. I like it it all its wonky glory and have already put it to use.


And I am happy to announce that after conking out a while back, my old and trusty sewing machine has been nursed back to life and given a good service. I'm happy with that - it means I don't, yet, have to venture into the world of new sewing machines, with there fancy menus and plasticness (mine is all metal and ox-like).

In celebration I figured it was time to venture into the world of patchworking, and below is what I came up with last week - a pot holder courtesy of the Lotta Jansdotter pattern from her Simple Sewing book. The best part was picking fabrics that work together - I used a heavy cotton for the main bit (blue and white), a lighter cotton (polka dots), a woolen felt (grey) and the hang tag is grey linen.