Bad Christmas Kitty!

He kept eating the hat before I could get a good shot

Fenn's a bad Christmas kitty!

Wattle bookmark

About all the stitching I've done in the last month. Sad really.

The design is a bit 'flat' as I had to iron the hell out of it to get the creases out. And the little wattle flowers at the bottom of the bookmark are only vaguely correct. I finished them while tired and grumpy (not a good mix) and just couldn't care less.

That and it's for my grandmother - she loves me and isn't going to hold some dodgy stitches against me.

Danico design
Wattle Bookmark
Design size 5cm x 25cm

The instructions for finishing were also a bui meh. Fold in half and hem stitch down the centre.  Needless to say the stitching down the back is anything but centred and looks pretty messy. The half stitches at either end look quite nice though and it was fun pulling out the threads for the frayed effect. (Simple pleasures, I know.)

I also loved the chart; hand drawn :-)
So old school.

Perfect? No. But as noted above, grandmother, love, not going to hold it against me.

Markets, Markets and More Markets!

I haven't really done any new stitching since my revelation that stitching while somewhat drunk is not the best idea. I'm not even game to look at the poor little piece I sabotaged. 

What I have been doing this weekend is going to markets. Lots and lots of markets! Well okay THREE markets but that's a fair effort in my books.

#1
Saturday 7th December
Nagambie market;
8.30am - 12.30pm

Nagambie is a small (but exceptionally scenic) town about 90 minutes from Melbourne.  It has the most incredible lake and hosts regular rowing regattas.  Also if you're interested in horse racing it's the home of Black Caviar. 

My sister and I were driving by on our way the Shepparton and decided to stop in for a rest and have a look at the market while we were there. 

Rowing was on, weather was lovely and the market was small and cute - much like the impression the town gives. 

Some general craft stalls, the usual market bulk goods (socks/dvds ect), a few fruit and veg, goat meat, olive & goat milk products and the local scout group had on a sausage sizzle. There was also some music in the form of a busker - she was very good and added an nice element to the whole thing. 

We brought delicious apricots for ourselves and the grandparents. Before I came home today our share was already mostly gone.

Basically a sweet little country market. If you're passing by or headed that way for some rowing stop in and waste 30 minutes or so browsing. 

#2
Sunday 8th December
Rose St. Artist' market;
60 Rose St. Fitzroy
11am - 5pm

Love it! This is a regular weekly event (every Saturday and Sunday) I'm ashamed to admit how often I DON'T make it. In fact it may actually have been a year or more since my last visit. 

As it says it the name this is an artists market so a fair bit of locally created higher end artist work and creativity. It's only small but has a very diverse mix of items that never fail to satisfy.

There's also the draw of Brubswick street itself with its many cafés and quirky shops. 

The market was as sweet as I remembered. I purchased some photo prints by a local photographer Esther Frieda. She had a lot of Melbourne but I liked her nature shots more. The three I purchased felt very calming when I looked at them together.

There was so many nice things. I kind of regret not buying some sweet Melbourne made soap - it smelt so yummy. There were several stalls with jewellery but all different styles so keeping it all diverse, I was tempted by a couple of pieces but held back from spending due to the fact I don't wear enough jewellery to warrant the purchase. I was also seriously tempted by a mixed media artist working with iconic Melbourne images, looked so nice like home but interpreted through someone else’s eyes - someone who loves it just like you.

I plan to repeat this soon; go in early, have breakfast at one of the multitude of nice cafés, check out the market and maybe have a coffee at the café next door then spend the rest of the day browsing along brubswick street! Through vintage and alternative fasion, spaciality shops and just plain interesting stuff. Yay. 

Probably lunch at Bimbo Deluxe ;) or may go rebel and eat healthy 0.O at the Vegie bar? So much to choose from.

#3
Sunday 8th December
The Big Design Market;
Sunday 8th December 2013
10am - 5pm

I had no idea this market was on until I saw a postcard for it at the Rose st market, it was on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'd had the vague idea to check out what was on at the Royal Exhibition Building on the way back from Rose street but finding the postcard cristalised the thought. 

Wasn't going to miss it :)

Wow, big. Lotsa stuff, not too much duplication. Though I ask all out there what's with the ugly chunky resin jewellery? and I don't understand the 'bespoke drinking jars' by Rainy Sunday at all. Really not at all.

There was a lot of interesting stuff to browse. I saw a lot of people sporting bags from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and yes I was tempted to buy one of their tshirts as well. Quirky.

There was also some nice Melbourne inspired works but they came with 'Australian' prices which meant they were way overpriced and oustide of what I was willing to pay. Nice to look at though. Tempted again by a really nice screen printed pillow but it was a 'limited' edition. I don't want a limited edition pillow I want one I can use.

I ended up with a lama brooch from Kimono reincarnate. Hehe. LAMA :)

And lastly lets all look at the ceiling.  

Frog it!

Don't stitch after a few drinks.

That's all I have to say.

Piccadilly Market - Geelong

A wordy post today. 

On Sunday bf and I drove to the Piccadilly market in Geelong, an hour out from Melbourne.

Enjoyment is probably proportional to how long it takes you to get there. If you're in the area, go for it. In Melbourne? Make sure you have some other reason to be there as well. Otherwise it's a long drive that will probably take twice as long as browsing the market does. We were pretty tired from the drive even before we started browsing, though walking the wrong way up the street in 30degree weather probable didn't help. We found the market eventually.

In saying that it is a nice reasonably sized market with decent selection of local craft and goods. Its also located on the north shore a hairsbreadth from the bay, so nice scenery.

We'd anticipated the need for some extra incentive to make the trip worth it so came prepared with a picknick lunch (courtesy of the bf - he's a sweety). We found a nice little tree and ate on the waterfront. Nom nom. 

Conveniently there was also another local market on along the waterfront and a vintage car/bike show the 'Geelong revival'. So it turned out there was no shortage of things to do and see.

There are also several antique wholesalers in the area. We stumbled into one and felt like we'd wandered into the 1940's. And the building was massive. While by then we were pretty tired the Brougham street markets was probably the highlight of the trip. We'll have to do it again sometime.

More from the Land of Secondhand

More secondhand shopping! 

This time it's a glut of cross stitch. I'm currently very happy and shopped out. It actually looked like someone had had a mini stash clean out.  There was 10 or more cross stitch kit just hanging there waiting for me when I dropped in to Savers - ringwood.  I managed to leave some that I found less appealing on the shelves for someone else to discover but still feel like I got more than my fair share.

So without further ado I give you my lucky purchases;

Cost a whole $1 AUD.

If I get the time I'll make it up for my Nan for Christmas.

My favourite, $2 AUD. I feel guilty it's such a bargain.

Sleepy kitty close up.

Big bag of mixed floss, it'll find a use I'm sure.

Very interesting floral bell-pull $3 AUD.

My phone randomly rotates my photo's. I give up.

And again $3 AUD for a serious bargain on the kookaburra.

I love kookaburra's they're so very distinctive.

Secondhand Shops = much love

I love looking around secondhand shops. You never know what you'll find. I also conveniently live within walking distance of five.

This weekend I visited Savers - Greensborough (a suburb in Melbourne). Twice in fact.

Savers is a chain of secondhand goods mega stores in the US, Canada and Australia. They give a bit of their profits to charity but I'm pretty sure the company makes a fair bit considering all the stuff they sell is donated and I'm sceptical of how much (%wise) actually gets redistributed to those in need.

Their pricing of items also seems a little bipolar, some good stuff is reasonable but absolute rubbish will have ridiculous prices and some things you could get cheaper new at a normal shop. Just plain odd.

Will this stop me shopping there? No but it is something to keep in mind. It helps avoid the big spends on stuff I don't really need.

But on from the depressing and slightly bitter.

I won't go through all the stuffs I brought but please admire the little lace butterfly. He was a bit costly for what he is at $4 AUD but two days later I still don't regret it so I know I made the right decision.

He's much cute.

Hosier Lane Yarn Graffiti

Melbourne has some dedicated graffiti areas and some talented artists.

It's a good combination. 

I sometimes wander around and take some pictures of the graffiti like a tourist. :) It's fun and gets me out and about for hours. 

Recently I had some time to kill waiting for a friend in the city and decided to spend it visiting some of the graffiti sites. 

In one of the more popular and well know sites, Hosier lane, there was also the added enjoyment of seeing some stitchy creativity. 

I would not have the patience for something like this!

And a close up. Just FYI as well the bars actually start above head hight.

Further down the lane and it's some mixed media; crochet and tile

This one isn't Hosier Lane and it's isn't stitchy but it is Melbourne and it is very very cool.

More to Life Than Books

I envy those crafty people out there who can compete those big works or are seemingly constantly productive. As you may be able to tell, I'm a fairly slow spasmodic crafter. But I do try to complete what I start and EVENTUALLY move my ideas from concept to creation. Sometimes it even works.! Anyway today I finished a more random bit of cross stitch I thought I'd given up on. And I'm actually fairly happy with the outcome.

Some while ago I saw a chart for sale on etsy (i think?) with the words "there's more to life than books" some cross stitch books in the middle and then the words "but not much more." At the time I thought it was cute but not for me. Bit too pastel/cutesie.

But after thinking about it for a while I did decide that a variation might suit one of the multitude of bibliophiles I know. I didn't buy the chart, for one it wasn't quite what I wanted and more importantly I'd forgotten where I'd seen it. Instead I got the crazy idea to throw some aida into a hoop and just start stitching. No planing - nothing.

Understandably this resulted in some hiccups that ultimately resulted in me putting the partially completed work aside in disgust and forgetting about it for a year. 

1) I used the same size hoop my finished product. Stitching right to the edge was hell. You'd think I'd have put it in a bigger hoop at some point. But nope, just carried on with the small one.

2) I'd decided to use charms instead of cross stitching the books...you'd think with all the crazy scrapbooking/embellishing going on in the craft world charms in the shape of a book would be easy to come by. Think again, there were some expensive (very nice but expensive) charms made of silver and such but nothing nice and reasonably priced. After a ridiculous amount of searching I finally found something I could live with on eBay. Thank you China. 

3) realise I'd stitched the 't' and 'h' in the word 'than' too small. Improvised rather than frog. 

4) really really should have thought out the last line better. It ended up extra shquished and looking a bit like the dogs breakfast. 

And lastly the charms dangled but due to the limited space there wasn't room for such shenanigans so I stitched them in place with a little hoop in each corner.

All this was done in black floss.

And that was about where I left it. Most of the writing done and charms attached. 

I was cleaning recently and stumbled across it again and on second thought decided that actually it didn't look as bad as I remembered and made a mental note to finish it.

I did the last few cross' in the bottom line. A whole 3 required I think. Then added a backstitch line under the books to tie them in better - this worked really well I think. And lastly I used the leftover floss from the owl quickie freebie kit I finished last month to backstitch around the words. This gave the work some colour and made the squished bottoms line legible. 

Some felt on the back and all done.

the lights not the best but oh well, here's the finished product:

The Finders Keepers Melbourne Market

What better to do after a crappy week at work than go to a market? And in consideration for everyone's busy schedules 'the Finders Keepers' market was open this Friday 6pm -10pm as well as over the weekend. Which was perfect because my weekend's all booked out.

Had a lovely Japanese dinner with the bf at Bentoya @ 115 Hardware street. Nummy numnum sashimi plater and the Japanese beef salad. Was perfect. Not the cheapest but very very tasty. 

Then off to meet friends and check out the market. 

The Finders Keepers Market

Located in the historic Royal exhibition building this place was packed out. At just $2 entry it didn't break the bank and the quantity and quality of stuff was quite satisfactory. 

Promoted as a indie art and design market it mostly fit the bill. Though at a point towards the end you noticed some trends repeated that felt overdone (really cant get excited about some ugly chunky beads on a chain - particularly at multiple stalls) we still easily and happily got lost for an hour and a half.

A lot tempted me, in particular a seahorse necklace by Luke Maninov. But I don't wear jewellery much and couldn't justify the (quite reasonable for its quality) price tag of $130.

There was some interesting things, bizarre things and an excessive amount of stationary. And string, several stalls with string.

I did particularly like the giant knitting needles, as mentioned above Luke Maninovs work and one of the artist really nailed it with her simple but sweet designs. (No link sorry) 

Managed to escape with only one personal purchase in the end. The panda brooches were too cute - and while I could have made them myself quite easily the question was would I have? Quick answer...NO. It was $10 each or 3 for $25 so we grabbed the robot one for bf's sister. 

Hope she likes.

And bf brought a CD of the performer on the stage - Mind Maps. They unfortunately have no online presence that I can locate. (Creepy) And since they were only background noise to me I have no idea how the group/person sounds. I assume I would have noticed more if they sucked. 

Crocheting on the train

Twice this weeks I've seen people crocheting on the train.

The first lady was crocheting a granny square and clearly knew what she was about because she was zipping right along.

The second, today, just cast on while we were traveling so all she's got at the moment is her first line that she's recounting a lot.

I think I'll spend the rest of the trip to work this morning speculating what she's making. More interesting than looking blankly out the window.

Owl freebie kit

Another little freebie kit from Cross Stitcher completed. Lots a little finishes seem to be what I need at the moment. 

This one, the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good;
Soluble canvas :-)
I started a free kit ages ago for the Queens Jubilee (also from Cross Stitcher) but never finished it. Lost interest then lost the kit. So this was my first completed use of soluble canvas and all I can say is that I'm already planning to use it again designs picked and everything. Good stuff and it looks funky while melting. An added plus.

The bad;
The instructions for the blanket stitch to finish the kit were sadly lacking. Basically just said squash the wings in and blanket stitch around the design. Let me ask you, how the hell do you blanket stitch without an edge?

And while I do know how to blanket stitch - the one stitch other than cross I do know, their instruction if you didn't know was a little lacking. At the very least for people who cross stitch only they could include a little step diagram.

Also not mentioned was how many strands to use for the blanket stitch. I decided on 2 for that extra bit of strength.

The ugly;
A carry on from the limited instruction regarding the blanket stitch when I reached the wings and ribbon I was '???' In the end to make sure they were secure I stitched them in place then blanket stitched the blue edge on either side of the wings. It looked rough and messy but at least I know the wings are not going anywhere. The ribbon I don't mind but where the wings meet the body...blah.

*

I also added some brown blanket stitch on the edge of both wings just to make the a little more interesting.

No idea what I'm going to do with it now since anything attached to my keys needs to be significantly more robust than this little owl. Maybe a gift for someone who's a little less brutal to their stuffs?

The light's not the greatest but if I don't post it now who knows when I'd get around to it.

Hehe, I'm melting! Melting!

Timber stitch kit take 2

I really like these little timber kits by [make it], they're quick and interesting. I picked this one up today while browsing at spotlight.

I actually managed to resist buying anything else but when I saw these little hearts they ended up in my grubby little hands post-haste. 

This kit included;
*2x cut timber heart cross stitch frames
*Needle
*Pre-cut felt backing
*A selection of DMC thread
*6 design charts (flowers, parrot, mouse, stripes, rainbow and polka dots.) It also included an alphabet chart in case you wanted to put a letter in your heart and blank charts to make your own design.
*And instructions

I really needed something simple and nice to do and this kit easily fit the bill. The fact I completed it the same day I got it says something.

 

I decided to do 2 of the charts provided, the rainbow and the mouse. Though I did add a few personal touches.

For the mouse I added whiskers and and a boarder in black and pale blue. I like to think the black reflects the 'black death' and mice being the bringers of pestilence. Yes I know that the finger for that one generally points to fleas on rats, but as a rodent I'm sure mice contributed.

And for the second heart I first thought I'd do the folk flower design but the use of pastels turned me off so instead I went for the rainbow. I used four strands rather than the recommended three for added thickness and added the blue border around the heart and a red and purple boarder around the outside.

Beyond the embarrassing moment when I realised I'd just stuck the pre-cut felt backing onto the wrong side of the rainbow heart they were both simple and satisfying for a quick bit of creating.

And I finished them both off into something useful :-)

The mouse became a brooch - though the pin on the back isn't as well stuck on as I’d like. I really suck with a glue gun.

And I stole to leather cord from a cheap necklace I had floating around and turned the rainbow heart into a necklace.

The finished products

I really like the felt backing, I's a nice finishing touch.

Fenn thought the necklace should belong to him. I had to nip that in the bud. Mine!

Brought a blueberry plant - poor thing's doomed

Turns out blueberries grow on a bush. Who'da thought it. So I brought 1 last Friday after work. 

And promptly dropped it.

Fingers crossed it'll yet live. The cats have been helping me tend it. :-) And to prove it here is Dude and Fenn critiquing the new blueberry plant.

Dude is taste testing the flowers. Verdict? Wait and see.

Fenn is helping push all the loose dirt from the fall back into the pot and around the roots.

The Making Spot is closing *unhappy face*

The Making Spot website is closing.
This came as a shock to me though I suppose people who pay a bit more attention to the site might have had an idea?  I found the 'Winter wonderland' pattern on this site (see 1st July 2012 post) and for free too. It's the loss of a great resource.

So on the 11th/10th of September subscribers to the newsletter and visitors to the site were advised of the closing by the following message;

"Hello, we hope you've had a wonderful summer. Today we're sorry to announce that The Making Spot website is closing – Monday 30th September will be our last day online."

While more details would have been appreciated it's their prerogative I guess.

So getting my last lot of shopping in before the 30th of September. Lucky I have some already though magazine purchases. Though I'll still need to cull the list - have pretty much zero disposable income at the moment. :-(


***Edit:
okay $56 I did not have to spend :-( so after the cull;
the end purchases:

Made the most of the freebies:
Crochet;
*Flower power crochet
*Classic comfort

Cross Stitch;
*Pretty kitty
*Cute deer gadget cosy
*Funky fox
*Wish upon a star
*Oriental elegance
*Sweet motifs for all occasions
*Quick stitch Christmas
*Oriental beauty
*Into the wild

Knitting;
*Lazy days blanket
*Lime Queen tunic
*Cute as a kitten
*Quick Valentines gifts
*Cowl trio
*Classic lace scarf
*Damson Cowl
*Elwood had

Scrapbooking;
*Ship ahoy!

Sewing;
*learn the art of blackworking
*Strawberry sachet


And the money went to:
Crochet;
*Cherry blossom jacket

Cross Stitch;
*Nordic Noel
*Orchid dreams
*Fruit jar covers
*Honey bee gifts
*Thrift and save jars
*mice will play
*Stitch silhouette cameos
*Panda bamboo scene
*Three wise men
*Singing in the rain

Knitting;
*Pudding hat
*Red riding hood
*Winter wonderland cape

$30-
Still more than I should spend but I just can't get any less.
Hopefully I'll complete at least some of these in the future and they won't languish on my computer gathering metaphorical dust.

It's a good thing I'm not much interested in card making or scrapbooking or I'd be downloading till the 30th. And in the poor house.

***Edit2:
fruit loops, forgot to take into account the site was in GBP not AUD so $50- spent after all. I really need to make sure I do some if not all of the ones I spent money on now.

Floral Cards Kit from the July Cross Stitcher

I've had a nice box I picked up at my local craft shop sitting around for a while. I always intended to cross stitch some flowers to go in the top but hadn't yet got around to it. So when I saw the most recent copy of Cross Stitcher (to hit Australian shelves - July 2013) on the magazine rack at the start of the week with a free kit of three flowers I knew it was perfect.

I started stitching the same day I purchased the magazine. The flowers were quite quick to complete, easily manageable in a few evenings while watching a movie or 2. I didn't really like the idea of putting the finished designs on the provided cards. Dull, and I generally don't give cards so ultimately useless. So the box I fortunately had on hand was perfect.

The designs didn't quite fit the box vertically so I cut 2 strips from the cards provided with the kit and edged the design. A bit of tape and the designs trimmed down. All done.

Very happy with the end result though I may still stain the wood of the box with some colour.

Design by: Angela Poole
Design size: 4x6cm each

Free Father's Day card from Cross Stitch Crazy

I picked up the recent Cross Stitch Crazy magazine pretty much entirely because of the free kit. I thought dad could do with something made specially for him and the afghan I want to make him is a long way off.

Its cute enough but in the end I wasn't really satisfied. It started with 2blues that looked very similar. If you're going to bundle your colours at least tell me how many lengths there are of each so I can be sure I've made the right call on which blue is 'blue' and which is 'dark blue'.

Then there are a couple of discrepancies between the stitched design in the front and the actual kit. Only 2of note, his nose is a different darker colour in the picture and his coat has an additional 2 back stitch lines in the kit. While not major it doesn't give you much confidence in the kit.

On to the stitching. I think my major gripe is that all the definition comes from complicated and fiddly back stitching. I fudged the 'best dad' on the cup and hated the crisscross on the shoes. This design just should not have been shrunk down so much. (7.5x7.5cm) it needed to be at least 1size up. Probably 2. And with significantly more tone.

I also missed a bit of backstitching on the chair. But too late now.

Do I like the final product? Mehe it's alright. Nice enough to give to dad now it's done. But for 10hrs or so of work not something I'd commit to again.

Other hobbies;

I collect coins.

Not really as a serious hobby. I can't tell you how much the coins I have are worth. The difference between a sovereign and a penny? We'll okay that one is fairly basic but that's also about were my limited knowledge ends.

I don't care about ever owning a coin worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or amassing a unique collection of rare pieces.

So why do I collect coins?

*

*

*

PIRATE TREASURE!!!
It makes me happy to cackle like a crazy person over my little pile of shinny pirate treasure.

And that is why I collect coins.

The end.

Fun with light

Yes I do enjoy stomping in puddles and playing with sunbeams.

And the colours that stream through window prisms and stickers. How can one not when the results are so pretty.