late entries

Thought I'd quickly sneak these brownies in. Better late than never!

They're now for sale in store.

I've been a bit AWOL this week while taking care of sick babies, sick DH and being a little sick myself. I think it's time to disinfect the house and rid any remaining dreaded lurgies. In between the fevers, sick tummies, barking coughs & sandpaper throats it seems (as of this evening) we may have finally had some success with the clinching of this elusive house. Last I told you we had withdrew our offer but after 2 days of sitting quiet we couldn't help ourselves and decided to give it another go. Contracts are due to be signed tomorrow so can't sing yet. Hopefully all goes smoothly from here. I really want to get excited but will retain that emotion until the ink has dried...... then look out!!! I promise to share pics.

I'm sure to be a little distracted this week with a custom order in purple and a green cushion project to finish. However, I'm committed to be back in the week with a red entry. In the meantime be sure to head over to see what the other colour challengers are getting up to (see list in top LH corner of this page). I think we all enjoyed the brown week and I'm guessing that red might also be a fun one for most.

mocha chocolate coffee

Ooohhhh....yum....brown! I love it. Yeah yeah it's the new black, or was, I'm not sure if it still is?? Actually I think grey now has that guernsey??? Anyway, brown has always been a personal favourite of mine. I can find a way to combine any colour with brown and it always accommodates so modestly. Never wants to be the star, just happy to work as a team. What a selfless colour!

So feeling all warm & fuzzy about this week I thought it was time to get cracking on some new designs that have been waiting in the wings for too long.

Introducing..... ...... ta da........ ... ... ... ....... First Fork 'n Spoon

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out (photo is not a very good representation of the colour...it's actually a chocolate brown - see flickr or fede shop for more pics) so I'm planning to make a few more for the shop. The Anna Maria Horner fabrics are from her Chocolate Lollipop range and were fun to work with. I've got a few more cut squares stashed away so I'll be putting them to good use very soon.

Speaking of Lollipops (aaah...yes nice transition) I'm also about to pop this little brown & watermelon pink number into the shop. These Lollipops have been a little experimental for me & my darling Bernina sewing machine. After the first prototype, I pulled back on the amount of fill in the top section but then ended up with this (created weeks ago so not brown).

Looks quite cute yeh? Until I discovered it was a ....... droopy ........ sad little lollipop.

I think this time I have almost got it right, however it did still result in one broken needle & several broken threads along the way. Mental note: must get that Walking Foot attachment organised.

Again, the feature fabric here is gorgeous and one that I have used previously on a First Tools Set. It's a Tina Givens design from the Zazu Collection. I used a heavy cotton drill on the back which was a pleasure to sew. I'm always combining all sorts of fabric types on my toys and struggling with stretching/pulling/sliding/walking fabrics but this one was a joy to work with.

I think I have been using my sewing as a means to distract my mind from the unfortunate house buying situation. Yesterday we retracted our offer after many hours of emotional struggle between our hearts and our brains. After a few unexpected hitches with the negotiating we finally listened to our gut feelings that something was not right with the sale and walked away. Still in love with the house, it is not to say we will not weaken again and foolishly jump back in, but at this stage we are just sitting and questioning. Would love to show you pics of the 1950's house but that would be like opening a can of worms!!

hello yellow

Yeah I know! I know it's almost Friday and I'm only just appearing with my yellow contribution....slack. Yep. Slack.

Here's my excuses. Ready?

Spent the week trying to find childcare - not an easy task. I've decided I need to devote more time to fede as the kids day sleeps are not proving to be very productive & nights are leaving me too sleep deprived. Hopefully I've found an option and heading off in the morning to check out the centre. Wish me luck :)

Buying a house. Not at all something on the list of things to do. Don't they say things happen for a reason? I'm a big believer in this so when I saw this house and my heart almost beat out of my chest I knew instantly I was smitten. Don't want to jinx myself so won't say too much but we're making an offer tomorrow....... fingers crossed X

Not sure if that has me off the hook or not???? Next week I'll be good.

Thank you all for your comments of late. It's such a moral boost to hear from you, which is just what a busy Mum needs every now and then. Hotfudge - thanks for the tip re fusible web, I'm going to give it a try. I like the idea of the raw edges.

unfinished blues....

Didn't quite finish my final blue projects. I tried, I really did, but the weekend was just too busy. So I thought I'd show you what I got up to. You'll probably think it looks like one big mess but believe me it is going to be beautiful when it's finished (mmm...maybe that's a little too confident). The photo also does it no justice as I took it tonight with a flash (and we all know flashes on cheap digital cameras don't do a lot for the subject matter). So without any further ado, here's a sneak preview. Description follows.


This is the front panel of a (to be) 45 cm square cushion. The fabric is a cool grey slightly flecked wool (think tailored suit) and the blue circles are crocheted wool (I can take no credit for these little gems) randomly sewn on. Years ago I bought a 1940's vintage skirt painstakingly made from these crocheted circles at an estate sale. The skirt was way too big for me so I knew immediately that it would one day become a project. It has been calling out to me ever since, but always got pushed aside for more "important" jobs. So yay, now it's started! All I have to do is to be sure to finish it.

The other unfinished BLUE thing I'd like to show you is a cushion I created for my little fella, Sachin. While it may appear finished, it is infact missing the most important detail.... the number plate...which will read ...... S A C H I N. I've stalled here as I'm not quite sure how I'm going to apply it. My current thinking is to hand stitch it on. Any other ideas?

Once completed I will be selling them in my etsy store as Custom Items. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, and still in BLUE theme, I toddled off to a local trash'n'treasure market this morning and had a wow of a time finding lots of goodies. Amongst them I found this book, which is just what I need as a little back-up when I decide to attempt sewing my first item of clothing. For $4- I thought it was value for money!

So to end this wonderful week of blue here's a little showcase of some of the things created by a few of the clever clever colour challengers. If you like what you see please use the links (and those above in the LH column) to pop over and say hello. Tomorrow starts the week of YELLOW....woo hoo!!

Glady & Cloudy says...



"it’s a scarf with soft fleece on one side, and a patchwork of blue cotton fabric strips on the other, I also topped it with some simple free motion quilting."

Treaurefield says.....

"It's been a long time since I did any collage and I'd been wantingto get back to it. I looked through the "blue issue" of SomersetStudios magazine and took notes of things I wanted to try."

Hot Fudge says.....

"I had planned to give them the pair of Trainer Baby Booties which I had on sale in my Etsy shop, but they were sold at the exhibition I am participating in this weekend, so I had to quickly make another pair."

Daisychain Designs says.....

"I'd made the base of the butterfly earlier last week as I've decided to keep a couple of bases for each of my butterflies and daisies in stock, and decided to add turquoise to it to keep with the theme"

UPDATE: To anyone who attempted to read this post in the first hour or two please accept my apologies for the state of the layout. I think I may have just challenged the blogspot world record for number of publishing on one post. You may have heard my bellowing from there!!! Let me just say this can be very frustrating when images & text & spaces will not publish the way they preview! Does anyone else have this problem or just me?

blue....another two

Baby tools are fantastic toys

For budding builders, girls and boys

Hammer and spanner, or wrench to some

It's all you need to get the job done!

Ok, maybe I should stick to sewing. I had 30 minutes to kill in the car today while the kids were sleeping so what else was I to do but write a silly rhyme? Doesn't everyone?














Hope you like them. I'll be putting them up for sale in my etsy shop today or tomorrow.

I'm really enjoying the colour challenge as it's enabling me to focus on one element. My chaotic brain usually heads off in so many different directions I end up designing or starting multiple projects in one sitting but finishing nothing. With this approach I seem to be more disciplined....mmmm....we'll see. Six weeks will test this!

Some of the other colour players are cruising with blue. Hotfudge has managed to squeeze in a pair of sweet blue girls pants (while preparing for an exhibition), Treasurefield is researching & experimenting with blue & sepia, and poor Jo at DaisyChain seems to be suffering with a little hearing loss after a date with Bon Jovi (lucky girl).

it's new, it's blue

The colour challenge has begun and this week it's all about BLUE. The list of participating Colour Challengers is growing (see links in LH column) and I'm already excited to see what others will come up with over the next 6 weeks. Be sure to pop over and check out their diverse creations as we go. Infact Jo is already off to a flying start.

Here is my first BLUE entry for your review. I think he's a giraffe kind-of guy, but then you may see something else in him? (Any name suggestions?) The fabric on his face is one of my favourites - I only had a small piece that was just big enough. It's a Ralph Lauren sample that I've had stashed away from my days working in the Furnishings Fabrics Department in London's Harrods (we're talking 1997 here).

I usually machine stitch the features on the face but last night I forgot to do this before I sewed him up. Oops! Recovery - I hand stitched his nose, mouth & eyebrows. I think the red mouth is not bold enough & gets a bit lost on the patterned fabric. The machine satin stitch would have been more pronounced. It doesn't look too bad does it??? It's a bit of a made-up stitch.... can't say I'm the world's best hand sewer. I've been meaning to buy one of these embroidery circle things for quite a while since I saw this (and ofcourse that would then make me the world's best hand sewer!)

So anyway, there you go. My first BLUE creation. DH questioned Mr Giraffes BLUE-ness.... I questioned DH's colour blindness ;)

colour my week

I found this fabulous book in the Etsy shop A Little Goodness and it inspired me no end. Look out, here comes my typical complaint.. "if only I had more hours in the day!" I'm starting to feel the desire to learn how to sew clothes and these designs and beautiful photography certainly got me dreaming. I also found these over at Katie Did. That little jacket & "heidi" shirt & pinafore are adorable. Maybe over the next few weeks I might give it a go?? (I've put that in writing now).

So I've got this idea. To make my sewing world even more fun & challenging over the next 6 weeks (alright...honestly...maybe it's also an attempt to minimise my terrible procrastination) I'm going to do this.........

This week (starting Mon 9th June) I will be only sewing in BLUE. All creations will be posted (the good, the bad & the ugly) for your perusal and comment, and the winning designs will hit my Etsy store. Each subsequent week will have a colour assigned in this order.

BLUE YELLOW BROWN RED GREEN PINK

As much as I have a soft spot for black, I have excluded it from this challenge. However, here is my token black contribution. It's a very funky Karlsson Clock given to us by my sister as a farewell gift when we left Melbourne. I love it!

desktop background

Today I sit here about to write a post & this is what greets me. Smiling Ruby = Happy fede.

sorted, finally!

It's a good feeling when you finally get around to completing tasks that have been outstanding for...well...let's just say way too long. I've managed to accomplish a couple of these over the last few days.




1. Finally managed to get myself on Flickr. Hey, everybody's doin' it. I read a few positive comments in forums regarding the use of Flickr so thought I'd give it a go. See my new flashy Flickr link in the left column (about half way down)....pretty isn't it! Still got many more photos to add but it's one step at a time so keep checking back.
















2. I FOUND THE BATTERY CHARGER.......yippeeeeeeeee. I know it doesn't sound such a big deal but believe me it has been driving me crazy!!! Finally I can get back to taking realms of photos of the kids (I used to keep such a great record of their growth & development).

Banana Smoothies today. I've just discovered that using frozen bananas makes the smoothie a thicker consistency. kids were pretty happy with the result!

1 frozen banana
milk
vanilla yoghurt
honey

Oh..and you have to drink it through a straw :)

janet's back

Just got home from an evening out with the olds & my Brother & his wife who are in town visiting for the weekend. After dinner (and with no little ones in tow) I headed into the late night CD shop for a leisurely browse and bought this. I think I must have been daydreaming about my younger days when I'd be out grooving on a Saturday night into the wee hours.....yup.....previous life Fee! Speaking of which, here's a little of that history....don't laugh. The band still gig here in Adelaide however I haven't been a member for 6 years (they just haven't updated the pic).

Anyways, then I came home & quickly jumped online to check my emails & BAM! Bought this. What is going on tonight??? I think I'd better take myself to bed before I hit ebay & then get really carried away!!!!

So on that note, goodnight & sweet dreams.