today I am ...

 

I have a full day of sewing ahead of me, followed by dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, Zio's. I hope your day is happy too!

my creative space ... bunting

Yesterday, my creative space was covered in bunting triangles ...

I love fabric bunting, but I wanted an easy option, so I created this (rather large) craft panel ...

It is hand screen printed on 100% cotton in red, blue, green and pink ...

These new craft panels will be available at the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show next week! You will be able to buy them in my online shop after the show. They are also for sale at Craft Victoria. Let me know what other colours you'd like to see this panel printed in too!
For more creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo.

meet my fabric: agapanthus

Hello again - I'd like to introduce you to my third and final yardage design, "Agapanthus" ...

I really enjoyed the design process involved in creating this pattern. I started with a photo I took in summer of an agapanthus flower that hadn't quite bloomed. I took the photo in the first place becuase I was interested in the shapes of the buds and stems, so I started drawing ... both on a print out of the photo to get an idea of the shapes, and then freehand in my trusty sketchbook ...

After quite a bit of trial and error, I came up with a flower design that I was happy with - I wanted it to be structural, but organic. This design is the largest of all three ...

This design comes in two colourways: deep purple on off white and white on natural - both linen/cotton basecloths.

Both colourways of this design will be available in fat quarters (approx 70cm x 50cm) at the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show. You will be able to buy this fabric in my online shop after the show.

So there you have it - my first yardage designs, all ready to be sewn into lovely things! I can't wait to see what others make with the fabric - if you make something, please send me a photo - it would really make my day!

I have really enjoyed sharing my designs and design process with you. No time to spare - so many things to do before next week. Have a lovely day!

meet my fabric: "circa"

The second of my yardage designs, this one is very personal to me. I came up with this circle motif right after visiting the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show last year and being inspired to get more creative. I called it my signature circle as I went on to use it as part of my branding, but I'm calling this repeat pattern Circa ...

As my ideas developed and turned into Yardage Design the business, I held onto a small dream of one day seeing this pattern hand printed onto lovely fabric. Last Friday was the day I realised that dream and ticked a box on my personal "to do" list - it felt great.

This design comes in two colourways: navy blue on natural linen/cotton, and deep red on off white hemp/organic cotton.

Both colourways of this design will be available in fat quarters (approx 70cm x 50cm) at the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show. You will be able to buy this fabric in my online shop after the show.

Thanks so much for the lovely comments about Swizzle - they were much appreciated! See you tomorrow for another design.

meet my fabric : "swizzle"

I thought it was high time that I introduced you to my very own yardage designs ... beginning with the one that I teased you with on Friday.  Meet "Swizzle" ...

Swizzle (so named because it looks a bit like a swizzle stick to me) started life as a doodle in my sketchbook ...

The idea came from a daisy chain, which I then played around with until I settled on a basic stripe effect pattern. The design is realtively small scale because I wanted a fabric that I could use for smaller projects and trims.

I'm a bit obsessed with red and teal at the moment, so I had this design hand printed in both teal on an offwhite hemp/organic cotton basecloth, and deep red on a natural linen/cotton basecloth ...

Both colourways of this design will be available in fat quarters (approx 70cm x 50cm) at the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show. You will be able to buy this fabric in my online shop after the show.

Stay tuned for another design tomorrow!

yardage .... at last!

Just a teaser ... more (designs and colours) next week when my head is less scrambled!

It's been one of those great days for me - seeing my dream become a reality. Have a lovely weekend!

in the mail box: pin cushions + print

The postie has been very good to me today, and the timing couldn't be better as I've been quite under the weather with a tummy bug. Anyway, I was delighted to recieve a gorgeous parcel from Ruth at Little Tree Bird with not one, but two pin cushions in it AND a little box of goodies ...

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, Ruth - you really did make my day! The half pear pin cushion is genius! Thanks also to Kate for holding such a fabulous swap!
The other parcel was all the way from the UK - can you guess from who by the packaging ...

A couple of weeks ago I could not resist buying Lisa's latest hand screen printed work of art - Japanese Spring Girl ...

Thanks, Lisa - she is just so beautiful! You are one talented lady!
 Ain't blogland the best!

market find ...

This little retro number might be useful for the Show, might not - I like it anyway! For more great finds, visit Sophie at Her Library Adventures!

friday in the studio

It's all systems go here - printing madly so that I will have some nice things for the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show which is only about two and half weeks away - yikes! Today was all about red ... with the occasional dash of blue ...

The red is 100% linen and the blue is 100% hemp - beautiful! What do you think of the new colours?
Have a great weekend!

shop handmade canberra - open + pics!

Shop Handmade in Canberra has just opened to the public ...

Last night, the media launch was held for the shop, and boy-o-boy did it look like fun! Click here and here for heaps of party pics!

Thanks so much to all the lovely Canberra people who posted pics on their blogs just hours after the event - superb effort! Here are a few that took my fancy, but follw the links to see HEAPS more ...

Purchases made by the The Shopping Sherpa (thanks Anna-Maria)

The Shopping Sherpa (Anna-Maria) herself! (thanks Posie)

Artichoke Flower Tea Towel and Vintage Tram Roll Menu Tea Towel on display (thanks Posie)

Enjoy your Friday!

see it ...

... any way you can ...

I've just got home after seeing Jersey Boys - it was brilliant - the story, the music, the talent - SUPERB! If you have the chance, go and see it - truly worth it.

new stockist: shop handmade in canberra

Only 2 more sleeps until Shop Handmade opens its doors for the very first time - how lucky are Canberrans!

This box of goodies will be arriving at the store today with a variety of my tea towels and aprons inside ...

I am thrilled to be involved in this exciting new store. As a relative newbie to all of this myself, it's nice to be on a journey with others who are also inspired and enthusiastic about all things handmade. I can't wait to get up to Canberra for a squizz, but in the mean time, I'm looking forward to lots of pics from locals (hint hint)!

friday in the studio

I had a very productive Friday in my little home studio ... this is me in my old Sunbeam apron that I use to print in - I will never throw this apron away - it has been with me from day one ...

Printing vintage tram roll menu tea towels ready for a new stockist ...

I also dropped this big bundle of bolts in to be handprinted with my first yardage designs ... not much longer to wait until I will have my own fabric ... just in time to be launched at Stitches & Craft In Melbourne in 3 weeks time ...

I hope your Friday was productive too. Enjoy the weekend ahead!

we love liam

Liam is a happy bright, charming five year old. He also happens to have a rare neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. He is the son of one of one of my favourite designers and fellow blogger, Lynn Russell of Satsuma Press. They are currently raising money to provide Liam with a fully accessible bathroom in their house this summer. If you can help by donating funds to Liam's Trust or by passing the word along - via email, your blog, twitter. Every bit - small or large - will make a difference. Thank you.
Please check out this blog for more about Liam:
www.weloveliam.blogspot.com
via Poppytalk

my creative space ... sew darn cute!

If I wrote a craft book, I would put a photo like this in the introduction because it really says it all ...

 
I love a good craft project book, and earlier this week I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the newly released Sew Darn Cute by Jenny Ryan (who's in the photo above!) from Penguin (thanks Liesel).

I really like how this one is set out - 30 small projects divided into sections of "pretties" (accessories and clothes); "totables" (all sorts of bags); "nest" (things for the home); "kids stuff" (toys, clothes and quilts); and, "crafties" (cool stuff to help you if you're a crafter - like a crochet hook cozy and a nice needle book).

Anyway, as quite a few of our friends are hatching babies at the moment, I took the opportunity to make something cute. This is my second ever softie, and it's for a girl ....

I used only things from my stash - some lovely natural linen, some Liberty Print, a bit of pink fabric I bought ages ago and some ric rac. It took a bit of experimenting, but I also managed to use the machine to embroider the face. I didn't use buttons (like the one in the book - which you can see on the front cover in the picture above) as this one is for a newborn baby and buttons could be a choking hazard. All up, including choosing the fabric, this project took me one and a half hours. The pattern and instructions were very easy - it was lovely to make something a bit different and a bit cute for a change!

I actually wouldn't mind making one of these too ... I really like the idea of covering buttons and making something interesting with them.

You can find out more about Jenny Ryan, the author of this book, on her website Home Ec.

It's creative space Thursday, so to see what else is being created by clever people around the world, visit Kootoyoo.

new stockist: counter @ craft vic

You can now buy Yardage Design products at Craft Victoria's shop, COUNTER - 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. At the moment, they have lots of black vintage tramroll menu tea towels, as well as a brand new product (not a tea towel or an apron!) that won't be revealed on my blog until next week ... you'll just have to drop in to the store if you want an early sneak peak!

tuesday in the kitchen: apricot + white chocolate cookies

We made this slightly adapted Martha recipe this morning - easy, kid friendly and delish!

Apricot + White Chocolate Cookies

1.5 cups plain flour
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/2t bi-carb soda
225g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1t salt
1t vanilla extract
2 eggs
225g white chocolate bits*
225g bag of dried apricots, chopped*

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and/or line two baking sheets.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add salt, vanilla and eggs, and beat until just combined.
Add flour, rolled oats and bi-carb, stirring until just combined.
Stir in chocolate bits and chopped apricots.
Use two tablespoons to place small heaps of mixture onto the baking sheets - space about 5cm apart (they spread)
Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges, but still soft in the centre (about 15 minutes - depends on your oven). Let them cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!

*You could swap the white chocolate for milk or dark, and really use any dried fruit you like/have in the cupboard.

card making

Our neighbours are off having a baby ... as we speak! So, I thought I would make a card to pop in their mailbox. I don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, so I went with a mint green and light orange combo, then printed it on recycled card stock. I'm really happy with the result - I love sitting down and designing something pretty for such a lovely occasion.

market find!

After eating our weight in chocolate for breakfast, we all staggered down to the Sunday Market at Camberwell for a squizz. I've been going almost every week for the last month or so, searching for special things that I can use to display my wares at the looming Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show. Today was a good day - I found this gorgeous vintage sewing box ...

It needs a bit of TLC, but it is well made out of oak, with brass hardware - a nice bit of oil will bring it up a treat. I plan to reupholster the lid/seat and inside with my own fabric - I cant' wait to see how it looks! 

I hope you've managed to score some great stuff this week too, like these people have! Happy Easter, and enjoy the rest of your day!

hoppy easter!

Have a lovely Sunday at your place! I'm predicting lots of sugar rushes here!

my creative space ... rustic + reversible

Following on from my post on Tuesday, my pin cushion for the Fox's Lane pincushion swaperama is finished ...

I used jute webbing - weaving it and stitching it on one side, with a bit of lettering embellishment - all on the machine. Then, on the reverse side, I used some fusible interfacing to join two strips together before stitching them (and a bit more embellishment!) ...

I'm really happy with the result. It combines a few of my favourite things - texture, typography, red and natural colours. I really hope my swap partner likes it too! Check out what's going on in other creative spaces around the neighbourhood and around the globe by visiting Kootoyoo!