A Very Vintage Weekend....

Hello dear friends! This weekend feels like we shoud be living in the tropics - thunder stoms, rain, high humidity and weather that can't seem to make up it's mind! Nevertheless, it's been a lovely weekend here in our house. Hubs and I went "thrifting" yesterday and I came back with sooooo many goodies! Mainly vintage material, pattern books and lots of ideas for future projects which I hope to get done in the new year. I stumbled across a gold mine in a shop called the "Retro Wombat" - metres and metres of amazing vintage fabric in beautiful condition at a total steal!! I left sooo happy with ideas dancing across my mind that stayed with me as a I dreamt about all sorts of random ideas and patterns...the mind will do as it wills! hehe.

Anyway, I have a few things to show you today....

Hubs came home this morning with this AWESOME vintage tea trolley he found for FREE!!! I immediately claimed as my "project trolley". It can sit in the corner of the loungeroom and hold all my needles, hook, notions and current crochet/knit/sewing projects. It will get it all off the coffee table and keep it looking organised and cute as well!

It's gaudy and retro and I love it!

It's in pretty good condition. The pattern takes me back to my childhood!

I also finished off a cute little robot friend today....

He isn't my best work to be honest, I was having trouble with my machine but he's not too bad for a first go. I was one of the patterns that needed to be assembled with mathematical thinking and lord knows I am no go at that! (think cubes and three dimensional shapes....ugh!)

I think he looks so friendly and cuddly (he is stuffed with soft toy filling). Fairly easy to work with but I would like to try it with 100% wool felt rather than the 30% wool felt I used.

The pattern calls for felt balls on the top o the robot for his "controls" but since I am stingy and wasn't about to shell out $7 for 5 felt balls and didn't have time to make any, coloured pom poms had to do. I didn't mind them actually as I think they are nicer to touch for a little set of hands anyway!

Now, a little clue as to next week's post.....can you guess what it will be???

How is your Christmas shopping going? I have hardly been to the shops to be honest, I have chosen to make a fair few of my gifts this year and apart from a few trips to my favourite sewing shops, I haven't had to venture far from my own lounge room. Bliss I say! A few of my favourit blogs have lots of posts about going handmade this year...for one of them check this out: Maybe Matilda

Also, before I forget, the robot pattern is from a great toy making book called "hop, skip, jump"by Fiona Dalton. I bought it at my local bookstore - I am guessing Amazon and most online places would have it too.

Two week till Chistmas! Yay!!!!

Ciao

Bella

xxxx

A New Twist on a Old Fashioned Item...

I have recently been on a bender of buying retro/vintage sewing patterns...Yep I love 'em! One of the patterns I bought had a really cut head scarf for girls aged 2-10. I decided to whip one up but as soon as I started I knew there was going to be no "whipping" - it was tedious and time consuming and required far too much work for such a small item. This is the one time I actually preferred a more "modern" approach and decided to go with a tutorial for head scarfs I saw on a blog ages ago (sorry I can't remember which blog, I only remember it roughly and had the idea "roughly" in my head!)

Anyway, the method I used was soooooo simple (think making 4 of them in 20 minutes - yep that easy!). The colour combinations are limitless and you can add as much frill and frippery as you like, or none at all if that is your fancy.
I made a combination of different sizes and it allows you to use different colours of fabric as the scarf is meant to be reversible - that is, you can wear it either way (duh!)

I used my uber cute niece Marlee as my model and managed to catch a few shots when she wasn't running, climbing, jumping or trying to take the camera off me so she could take a "pitcher" (aka picture!)

Perfect for running and playing, to keep hair out of eyes and to keep you at the top ranks of cutest kid in the playground. For real.

This week is going to be mega busy! I have hubs sick with man flu (let's not even begin to discuss!), busy week at work and the rest of the silly season's events! Deep breaths everyone!

Have a brilliant week. Make sure you stand under some holly and get a big smooch! What else is that green stuff good for???

Ciao

Bella

xx

Knit and Crochet Along!

One of the things that has inspired my creativity and encouraged me in my crochet/knitting/sewing work is by reading blogs. I have a zilion on my google reader that I visit regularly and am constantly inspired by women all around the world. It almost feels like you kow someone when you read their blog - you get to know who is in their family, what they do with their time and the highs and lows as they traverse the same world as we do, just perhaps in a different continent.

One of the blogs I love to read is Luvin' the Mommyhood - you should seriously check it out! I love her down to earth nature, her honesty and her creativity.

Anyway, she is hosting a "knit along" for people that are making handmade gifts a part of their Christmas giving - which is me!!!! I have decided I will join in, except I am crocheting, not knitting. I am also sewing gifts a well, but I will show you those in December.

Anyway, get on over and check out the blog. You won't be disappointed!!!

Happy mid week!

Ciao

Bella

xx

The cutest pants you have ever seen!!!!

I had so much fun working on this week's sewing post. I bought a pattern a little while ago from Pink Fig Designs and excitedly cut the fabric out but life got busy and I didn't get back around to finishing it till this weekend. It was finally done and with an impromtu visit from my sister and her little one, we were able to get some pics!

The pattern is called the "Bella Pants". Aren't they gorgeous!!!

The pattern calls for plain pockets, however I thought it would be cute to add some detail

with the crochet flowers and motifs

I love this pic. Even though the surroundings are messy and not pretty, the eyes

say it all!!

The colour combinations for this pattern are limitless! I can alo imagine changing certain aspects of the pockets, perhaps adding cute little pockets on the back instead? The only limit to making these pants cute is your imagination!

The pattern was fairly easy to follow with great instructions and pictures. Definitely a win!

Having a gorgeous niece to photograph finishes it off nicely I say!

Have a great week!

Ciao

Bella

xxx

I'm Back!!!

What a full on couple of weeks it has been!! To start with, I contracted a mild case of shingles (who knows where that came from???) then the computer packed it in, then to top it all off I got a infected wisdom tooth removed - bad move by the dentist - which made me really sick. I am starting to feel somewhat normal now, back to about 60% and hoping to be fully recovered by the end of the week!!

So, after multiple trips to the doctor, a few day off sick from work at a time when I really couldn't be off and a new laptop later, I am back!!! I have been resting most of the weekend, not really able to do too much without totally exhausting myself, hoping to feel much better as I really need to go to work tomorrow.

In spite of all this, I have lots going on in my creative little world! Alot of projects are half-finished at the moment but will hopefully be done in the next 2 weeks. I do have a few things to show you today however!!!

A week or two back, I finished my "Grandma Bunny"....

I wasn't too sure how the embroided glasses would turn out, but I am pretty happy with how "grandma-ish" she looks!

Complete with apron...(I actually cut this bit of fabric from a vintage apron I bought a while ago..)

Tied at the back...

She is so cute don't you think???

I have bought a few pattern books of late and I cannot wait to have the time to get started! My favourite is a Japanese pattern book filled with pages of clothes for women (yes I am actually going to make things for myself!!) and I love every page. This is the book...

It is also the season for my favourite flowers! We have ou first hydrangea blooms!

They aren't the colour they do turn in mid summer - a really beautiful blue but they are a great start!

Here's hoping this week is a better one - and that whatever you are doing, it is filled with memorable moments.

Ciao

Bella

xx

Crafting with Kids

I have decided what my dream job would be. It combines two of my favourite things...kiddies and craft. I have decided that I would LOVE to teach kids to craft...to love creativity...to enjoy the process and journey that creativity takes you on. I have always been a crafty person but in the last few years as I have seriously gotten into sewing/crocheting/knitting and lots of other crafting pursuits I can truly say that it has changed my life. I know that may sound slightly stupid to the uninformed but for those of you out that in the know..you will know what I mean!
Anyway, in the lead up to Christmas and that beautiful long stretch of 6 week school holidays I thought I would do some posts on crafting ideas for kids. It is a great way to celebrate different seasons (Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc) and a great way to keep little hands busy. On top of that, helping children be creative has so many benefits...I will post more on that soon!
My first crafting with kids project is for a craft activity called "God's Eyes". I have no idea why they are called that but they are cool nonetheless! I did this at work with the kids this week and they loved it. I recommend it for kids aged 4 and up - they need to have a grasp on their fine motor skills and a decent amount of hand-eye coordination, but hey, if you have a child prodigy, try this at any age!

The finished project looks like this:

Here is a quick tutorial to show you how EASY it is...

Collect some sticks - I got mine from across the road of my home...under a big gum tree!

Chop to the required size and pair them up. 

You will need two sticks of identical size for each god's eye you make.

Choose your yarn. Any thickness, any texture will do. Scraps are great!

Place sticks in a "cross" shape and tie first colour yarn in a simple knot

Take yarn and wrap around the sticks diagonally one way, then go the other way. It should feel firm by now and ready to start making your diamond.

Wrap your yarn around each stick, moving around in a square motion, wrapping once around each arm of the cross. With younger children, it is best to let them do the wrapping of the yarn while you hold and turn the cross. That way, you can make sure it's tight enough and the yarn stays close together.

To add another colour, don't worry about tying it off, just wrap it around one of the arms and then keep going, spinning the cross as you wrap the yarn around the arms. If you keep going, wrapping the yarn once around each arm, you will end up with a diamond shape. 

You can make them as big or small as you like. It is so simple, I wrap my yarn in a anti-clockwise motion.

If you do decide to change colours, you will just need to snip the ends off as you come to the end and they are not long enough to make it to the next arm. Don't worry about tying them off, they are wrapped so much around the sticks, they won't come undone.

When you get to the size you want your god's eye to be, snip the yarn and use a yarn needle to thread the end into the back. You could also tape it to the back if you wanted to. I would recommend doing this part yourself for younger children and for older children, have them use a plastic needle specially designed for kid's use.

Tie a ribbon around the top arm of the cross and then make a loop in the ribbon that will allow you to hang your god's eye up.

I just used some scrap yarn I had at home to quickly do these up, took me 15 minutes. 

I had an idea that you could make small ones to tie on the front of Christmas presents, hang them as decorations in your tree or allow the kids to decide where they might look best!

That's it....easy peasy!

I will be back soon with more kiddie craft and other creative ideas!

Ciao

Bella

xxx

 

Bits and Bobs

Hi friends!!!! I have a "visual" post for you today...I am playing catch ups and showing you a bunch of pics from the last month or two. Life is HECTIC this week as I am in the final week of my study for the course I have been doing for the past 2 years, so sewing/knitting/crochet is taking a backseat, so you will have to wait for another week to see anything new....However, I do have a few things here to delight the eyes and feed the senses...

Crafty Things I have made:

I love making crochet motifs...made these for a lovely customer...

Cute "corkscrew" crochet headband for beautiful niece Macie... (excuse the not so great photo, she's a busy girl to capture!)

What's better than smooching yourself in the mirror when you have just turned 1? Not much apparently!

Things I am loving....

This was the view from our bedroom of our last 5 day getaway...

Rainbow cane chairs for the little people...

Toadstools. I am slightly obsessed. 

That's it for now, wish me luck I get all the assessments done by the due date without going too crazy. I can do it. I think.

Have a great week! I will be back soon with more sewing/crochet/life goodness!!! Promise!

Ciao

Bella

xxx