A snatched weekend away

Life is good.  We managed to organise a weekend by the coast at Tora, renting a tiny little house for a few days.  No cell phones.  No TV.  Only a view, some magazines, and lots of food - including this perfect breakie.  Yep - its good.

An owlie little seat

I love that something like this stool is so easy to renovate. 

I picked this up from the dump shop for $2.  It was stained icky wood with a horrid dirty pink cover on the seat. 

A coat of paint (the grey is left over from the feature wall), some new fabric (this Alexander Henry Its a Hoot print brings a smile to my face), and hey presto  - cute new seat for the baby room.

*sigh*

Can someone please tell me how I'm suppossed to get any sewing done.  Its a pointless exercise

Introducing ....

Productivity has dropped through the floor with the addition to our household this week. Dexter, our new 4 month old burmese kitten has prevented any task being started or completed. If we are no entertaining him by pulling shoelaces around the house, or acting as a warm blanket, we are snickeirng at his vertical air leaps and crazy antics. He's so gorgeous and creates so much laughter I can't imagine how we did without him.

Flushed with achievement

Well, it is certainly not short of its imperfections and idiosyncrasies, but I am so delighted to have finally finished reupholstering this chair. 

 

It has been a not-very-active labour of love for about 2 years.   This seat was borrowed from a friend when we came back to NZ and had no furniture.   It was old, filthy and ripped, and recently has been un-needed or un-loved.  But rather than going to the dump, it was always intended for a refurb.

Its sat down in the garage for the last 18 months.   Every time I'd get some heat from the other half about "cluttering up the garage with junk", I'd spend another 10 minutes prising out one or two of the 1000s of staples as I tried to dismantle the covering.   But it was so depressing working in the dark, and making so little progress - I always lost interest after a short while.   Hence why its taken so long.

What I had done was photograph each stage as I peeled back layer upon layer and revealed staple after staple.   When I finally got to the bare bones I carried the chair upstairs so I could work in the much happier surrounds of my sewing room.   Using those photos I then tried to reverse the process with the new fabric. 
 

Its not quite right - I got lazy in the end and decided it looked fine without a bottom skirt and without the piping on the cushions.   Also, there are a few points of less than perfection.   But I am really pleased - and who is going to be accrediting my chair after all. 

The important thing is it is still the super-comfy chair that it was initially. So yay - perfect for a snooze or nursing in the soon-to-be-baby's room.   Hmmm - must scotchgard it this weekend.

Wonderful book from Alabama Studio

My goodness.   Thank you Alabama Studio.

In the true spirit of Christmas (????) I have committed that common crime of buying myself a Xmas present or two perhaps more often that I bought one for someone else.   I go shopping so rarely that being forced into the world of shops and pretty goods - I find myself going "ohhh, that's nice - might get that for myself" with frightening frequency. Not confined to physical shops, it also happened when I was online finding some books for friends and family.   I have ended with 3 for myself.... is this so wrong?

However, I can't feel bad about it because one of those books was Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin.   I found it very difficult to focus at work today once I opened the Alabama Studio book and couldn't wait to get home, tuck in to a chair, and get reading.

I have devoured this book.   It is truly hands-down the most helpful, un-naff, stylish, creative sewing book I have read to date.   No more frilly apron patterns or plastic bag holders - these guys have packed so many useful hints, tips, techniques, and styles into this book I feel I need to say thanks irrespective of having paid for the book.   The instructions for stitch styles are very clear.   The designs are effective.   And the generosity of laying bare all these wonderful ideas just makes you feel lucky to read the book (in a day of meagre offerings and stretching things out to make more money - it is so enjoyable to find a book that keeps giving on every single page).

I am very keen to try out some of these techniques which will all be very new to me.   If I can get myself organised in the next week, I might be able to take a few portable projects with me to pass some time whilst camping over the holidays.

Pleated handbag

I picked up this fabric at a fabricabrac sale and knew it would be perfect for a couple of bags as the prints are so eye catching and happy.

Recently I finally decided to action the plan (rather than think about the plan).  And here are the results. 

I think they have turned out great. I made the bags quite large so they are almost totes, fitting all you stuff and a book easily. This meant I only had enough fabric for one bag each, but I think its worth it. It makes them absolute one-offs.

Am in the process of popping these three handbags up on my felt site.

A very bleak Fair day

Spent yesterday at the Thordon Fair.   A friend was having her first market stall and as its always easier with 2 people, I offered to help.   I also threw a few things out on her stall to flesh it out.   She was selling some intricate smock dresses for little girls.

And what a horrid day Wellington turned on for the Fair.   It has been glorious weather prior and its glorious weather after.   But Sunday, the day was terrible - gale force winds that blew everything over (including taking people's gazebos into nearby trees), and generally kept you on your toes.   It had rained up until an hour before set-up and we are thankful the rain held off for the day, but the clouds sort of blew through the street, lending a real chill to the air.   And of course, this kept the crowds away - lets face it: I wouldn't have got off the couch if I hadn't been involved. 
 
So, all and all, not the best foray into the world of fairs for my friend, but certainly a realistic one. 

My highlights included (i) buying this toffee apple that I'm going to eat tonight.
 
(ii) acquiring this teapot to match the mugs I'd bought the previous year.   I love this design and love the quirky shape.   I figure if I keep buying an item every time I attend a fair where this talented potter has a stall, I'll eventually have the whole set.

Chemo Head Scarves

- ideal for the uncoordinated

I wanted to do something for my mum who is in the process of surviving breast cancer and is currently stoically fighting through her second bout of chemo treatment. 

As I'm sure anyone who's seen someone close go through this process, you feel entirely useless in this situation - not being able to 'take away' any of the troubles or ailments.  Add on top of that having a mother as strong and stubborn as mine, she will go to all lengths to make sure she doesn't "burden" her daughter.  Her determination and steadfastness is incredible, if not slightly annoying for those of us left with only offers of little things and minor assistance to try and make ourselves feel better, like some way we've lightened her load.

She started loosing her hair shortly after the first bout and I felt like it was important to be prepared.  She wanted to figure out how to tie a scarf to make a head cover but we determined pretty quickly that wasn't gonna work for us - we are way too unstylie and uncoordinated for that type of thing. 

So I wanted to sew a few scarf head coverings that were easy to wear and provided comfort that they weren't going to blow away or reveal peaks of scalp.

I used this wonderful pattern kindly uploaded by Brimming with Love called the Milly Tie Hat Pattern .  Thank you so much for sharing this pattern. 

I made two using this pattern, in contrasting fabrics.  One from light cottons and one quilting cotton on top with nice warm sweatshirt material on the inside.  The pattern provides a wide band.  You need to roll the band (as shown on the pattern picture) to show the contrasting fabric otherwise its quite large.

I didn't take any photos of those before I gave them to mum.  But I did make one more, taking 2 inches off from around the band (this meant the seam sits around the face without needing to be folded up).  Excuse the hideous photos but it gives you some idea.

So, along with her sleeping caps, her wig, and this little collection of head scarves, at least I feel better that she has a few head coverings to choose from.  My Mum - what a star!  

Round scrappy cushions

As with any person who like to sew, I have become a chronic horder.

This was underlined by my dear friend who - when I mentioned I might try and get to the next fabricabrac sale to buy up some great deals - pointed out we should be setting up a stall and selling fabric stashes rather than buying more. Yes ok ... perhaps she has a point. Thanks V.

So I took the pattern for the sprocket pillow from cluckclucksew.com and put it to good use with the load of scraps and bits of fabric I have stashed in a big metal pot.



The results are very cute and effective, and for the price of the stuffing only, are a wonderful way to put those scraps of this and that to good use.









I am thinking of making some much larger versions with beanbag filling for floor cushions. Might be fun. With a coated cotton base they could be for outdoor use too.

 

A calm and moody moment on the coast before the southerly blasted in yesterday

Kitch Nirvana

When I visited my brother recently in San Diego I stumbled across a place called the Antique Centre in Ocean Beach.  It was like a Nirvana of fun-ness. 

It was the last store on my list and I had given myself 5 minutes to wander round until the next bus back into town.  It didn't take long to decide that I wasn't going to make the bus. 

I could have pitched a tent and lived in this place.  It was a massive shop with individual sellers having an area each to display their wares.  Some of the displays were fantastic and the sheer amount of goods was just astonishing. 

From little old New Zealand where just one of these booths would have made the coolest store on the block, I just wanted to get a shipping container and fill it up.  This will be the first place I visit next time I'm in town.

Lolly wrappers

Cape Gooseberries are like little sweeties, individually wrapped for easy consumption.

What I like the most is when the case has been left on the ground and becomes skeletal.  It still retains its shape and is so intricate.

Enough - feet up - faccio niente

So yay that's it. That's my sewing room pretty much done. Here are my before and after shots.

Before

After



Before



After



Before



After



I think I can put my feet up and get back to something a little bit more fun.

I visited my brother in San Diego a few weeks ago and I was watching Eat Pray Love again on the plane (for want of anything better to pass the hours).  It reminded me of the phrase they stress in the Italian section "la dolce far niente" - the sweetness of doing nothing. 

The idea really resonates - to be calm and do little. I am such a fidget britches and have such a long list of things I want to do, to try, or to finish, that the thought of spending time not doing anything, and not trying to accomplish something, is much more difficult than it sounds. Well it sounds grand, but then I think "oh, I could start that...." or "I could try to do a little bit of that....". For example, I get the Saturday paper delivered because I like the idea of sitting and sipping coffee and leisurely reading the paper.  I never manage to get through more than one section and then it just gets used under the weedmat in the garden.

So this is my new aim. To allocate some time every weekend to not have to achieve an outcome - read a book, or snooze in the sun. That's my pledge.



The One-Yard-Too-Little Curtains

The cream/fawn curtains that were already in place in the room were relatively inoffensive but were too plain and made the room look very drab. I really wanted to make some blinds but with the width and construction of the windows it was going to be impossible. So, I opted just to replace the curtains with something with a bit more pep.

I bought this fabric at ikea when I was visiting my brother in San Diego. It ties in with the designs that I had chosen for the other 2 bedrooms but has a bit more pattern, which I thought was necessary.

However, as is of course the way (especially when you have no opportunity to go back to the shop and buy some more), I bought about a yard too little. (Likely to be the difference between yards I was cutting and metres in my head.  sigh)  Ahhhh, the frustration (enough to say, not good words were said)!

I tried calculating the measurements of the fabric again and again, but lets face it - you can't magic up threads from nowhere.

So, I was forced to adopt that age-old tradition ...... tack a bit of some other fabric on the end!

I bought some sturdy satin-finished material and have made a large bottom border and a sash from this material. I made the linings from just natural calico. In hindsight I wonder if the black material shouldn't have been at the top, but I don't mind how they turned out. It took quite a long time to get these all done given the extra hemming and the lining and the sashes, but pleased to have these completed finally.  Thoroughly sick of curtains for the time being.

And, in a fit of productivity I made a final tribute to the old wallpaper.  Whilst the migraine of the truck wallpaper was too much to live with, it was worthy of a tribute and has therefore been immortalised by framing a piece and giving it a well deserved place on the wall. 

Shades of grey being very in this season

No, I haven't read the books.  I have them on loan from a friend but couldn't get past the trash writing to the interesting parts.  Anyway - that's not what this is about. 

I opted for one wall to be a different colour.  I knew I wanted grey but again, had a few test pot disappointments.  In the end I bought a can of Quarter Sidewinder on the misguided view that it would simply be a lighter shade of its cousin, Half Sidewinder.  That's right - I never learn - another whoopsie.

However, after some grovelling and a lot of work from the girls at the local paint store, they tinted it up as much as possible and it has turned out to be what I was looking for.  A warm grey.  Phew.

I have finally got to hang all those picture frames I'd been hording for the past year.  Some are from ikea and the rest are from the local dump shop and painted white.  I love how the frames look against the grey.

Bit by bit

I've been causing myself angst and stress about the fact that there has been no blogging of late. Bad bad Blogger!

This blog-drought started from a lack of Craft Room-ness when I started the revamp of the third bedroom (AKA my craft space). However, as things dragged on and on and on, I wanted to be able to post my finished product in all its glory - to amaze with the resulting transformation. And so, on and on the delay went as my finished product remained out of reach.

And now, I have perhaps had a wee moment of epiphany - there may never be a finished product (I've refrained from noting "old chinese proverb say ..."). 

So, I have come to the realisation that I don't need to reveal a finished product. Blogs are about progress, and updates, and developments. Like so much in life, there's never a brand new sparkly twinkling reveal - except of course on Extreme Makeover.

With that in mind, what limited amount I can say I've achieved is: 
- The truck wallpaper gone.
- The rocket ships that were blasting off underneath are gone.
- And we are plastered and painted.

And some of the immeasurable delay came from trying to find the right paint. I tried test pot after test pot. Doing one-off commando missions to the paint store only to get home, slap some on the wall and be disappointed. Taupe and Napa, Fendleton and Dumblane, Half this and Quarter that. In the end, I realised I had spent more money on countless test pots than I would have on paint for the room and it was getting out of hand. So, in frustration I conceded to what the other half had been pressing for, and painted the room the same colour as the hallway (which is Double Whitepointer by Resene).

And, as luck would have it, I like it. The colour is different in the room than it is in the hallway (its not as grey-white but has a tiny bit more warmth in it). It is what I was looking for.

I still need to paint all the trims as they are looking very sad, and there is much to do, but that's for another day.  And compared to the truck wallpaper ...... its an oasis of calm.

A few purses

After a hiatus post-market, I am starting on some more purses.

I've managed to get the medium sized ones sewn up.  Looking at this array it is clear: the usual draw to florals, blues, greens and browns is clearly alive and well. :)

I am about to start on the over-sized collection (oh - 'collection' makes me sound a bit too serious doesn't it. lets call it a 'bunch').  As its getting wintery and wonderful here, I am making a few out of some wools and tweeds which are perfect for the season. Why not eh.

Anyway, all going to plan they should start appearing on my (terribly empty) FELT shop soon.

Fun in Brunswick

Well its been a while since my last post. There's been a variety of things happening (good and bad) that have meant life has felt a little bit on hold. Its funny how the process of moving through a bad patch just takes some time before you come through the veil and actually feel you can give some positivity back to the world.  I do now feel more able to focus and look to the future.


And certainly, now as the winter days are now much shorter, it lends oneself to hibernation tendencies. This "inside-time" presumably should have the effect that I might be more productive in the sewing sense. Maybe.

One of the positives in the last wee while was a visit to Melbourne for a friend's engagement party. I love love love the creative soul of Melbourne - it is quite simply brimming over with originality and style. Coming from little old Wellington where we pride ourselves on our snazzy cafes, the sheer size of Melbourne and the endless spirit is so awesome - I am always profoundly jealous. I walk away thinking there is absolutely no excuse to not be wonderfully stylish in Melbourne - whilst here at home we are lucky to have 5 or 6 design stores, Melbourne has such an extraordinary bounty.

I was lucky to have the time to spend quite a few hours meandering happily along Brunswick Street. To be fair, I would have been just as happy to pitch my tent and live on the side of the road for a week or so, but I settled for an afternoon.

Loved the stores that I lucked upon there. The Fabric Store, with its light warehouse feel and clean walls made looking at cloth a delight. Mozi which had the most gorgeous bright coloured home wares (I bought an oil drizzler - love it!).  And Amor y Locura, a shop that specialises in Day of the Dead kitch merchandise, and so many many others.  A delight.

Fabric haul

 I often get emails from fabric shops such as Hawthorne Threads showing off their lovely wares. I covert the lovely fabrics (sewers are such terrible hoarders). The costs overseas are so much less than what we pay here in NZ, but then the shipping cost starts to eat into the difference.

 My brother lives in San Diego so in the styles of any self-interested daughter I ordered a batch of fabric to be delivered to him and made my poor mother lug in back from a recent visit. It wasn't mammoth amounts (compare my recent ikea curtain fabric haul - now that was heavy!) but I did have the odd twinge of guilt. Is this the right thing to do to one's poor old mom? However, this guilt was significantly reduced upon delivery - I mean seriously, how fun are these fabrics!  So mum hauled it but I get The Haul.   

I love the Retro Kitchen print - my intention is to use some of this stretched over canvas as a kitchen wall hanging. In hindsight its a little like the cheesy wallpaper that used to be in the laundry which I rudely painted over - but the other half can't complain about a wall hanging so easily .....

I also think these will look great as tea towel trims, any kitchen accessory, and lined as a blind. Actually would also look great as some bunting wouldn't it? ..... hmmm, now I'm thinking .....

Anyway, I bought extra amount to share the love so when I finally get round to it there will be available (fat or thin quarts) on my felt shop for those who like the print and don't want to pay the usual high retail price.

My favourite however is a print in the Gallery Fiori range. This poppy print reminds me of Van Gogh paintings - its just lovely. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to make with this but when I see it, I'll know. I think it will make a striking top of some sort.