Flea Market Finds

I got a box of old glasses; some with ships on them...and this dotty green one.


Vintage easter post card. Look at that chick go!

Could not go past (much to Em's horror) a box of 60s plastic. These picnic knives, forks, spoons are surprisingly sturdy. Pretty, too.

Old keys...just because.

Tiny glass, green Tea Set - just these three pieces but I love that green and the detail on the saucer.

Thanks for looking.

Fryerstown Antique Fair

Emma, Liz, Jai, Julie and I went to the Fryerstown Antique Fair on the weekend. Here's some shots of the day. It's a massive affair in a small country town - some stalls are in the town hall but most of them are outside, under the gumtrees (if they're lucky) in the middle of the bush. It's HUGE, hot and dusty but lots of fun. Pics of loot later.
Em really liked the look of that little birdcage...but it was $95 - a bit hefty me thinks.

The tent! Ahh...the only place to get a coffee and get out of the sun.

Wip van Ripple

Looks like I crochet in the dark. I don't. Sorry about the bad pic but this is one of my WIP's - a red, white and blue ripple blanket. Took me awhile to work out how to do the stitch but it really is very easy and hugely satisfying to type out row by row... and watch it get longer and longer. I didn't think I'd be interested in crocheting in the summer - turns out I was totally wrong about that.

Elephant vs Mouse

This is what over confidence gets you. A mouse. I thought I'd whip up another lovely Sweet Nelllie Snoot from softies. Who needs to read the pattern right? I've already made one. "Careful placement of the ears" is where I went wrong, but you can probably tell that by the photo.

Who could believe that just a few inches could determine a completely different species? How ironic that it should transform an elephant into mouse. Cruel twist. Maybe that's why the mouse looks so nervous? Well. A lesson learned - the hard way. I battled on regardless but when it came to giving the mouse a face - I just could not get it right. I had smiles, cheeks, high eyes, low eyes, eyes close together - nothing looked right and in the end, her poor little face got a little marked by all the stitches I had to drag out. No wonder she looks bewildered.

Was WIP

I got home from work about 7pm last night and while Emma went to the gym, I went to the Craft Room with no idea about what I was going to make.
Now that I have the space, I can look around the room, drag out books and just attack my next project with gusto. I've been desperate to make this fella for ages. I've long been a fan Sweet Nellie's fantastic work (I have one of her lovely birds called Bernadette). Her Snoots exude charm and wonder.
You'll find a pattern for her elephant in softies edited by another talented person from Softies Central.
This pattern is fantastic and the instructions are clear and detailed. Very happy with this chap. I have a niece who loves elephants, so I think I might save him for her birthday.
As I was looking for the all the materials, I had little memory flashes of where I got everything from. The blue wool felt is from ebay, the orange dotty fabric is a bit I picked up in Tokyo last October, the little felt ball on the tip of his hat is from a shop in Pt Lonsdale (got a handfull about 3 years ago) and the elephant trim around his neck is from a scrapbooking shop in Mornington.
So I didn't think I'd get him all done last night, but suddenly I had this charming softie smiling up at me. Welcome.

When, ahem, a little crazy the othe night. Usually I only buy one or two but FOUR??? But I must say, heaps of ideas in all of them...and it is The Last edition of Blueprint, which tipped me over the line.

Introducing Miss Buttons

Here she is - fresh off the sewing machine. I've been meaning to whip up the adorable Miss Buttons from Sew Your Own for ages. I decided to not stuff her legs, I liked the way they crossed over.

There was something about yesterday - an overcast Sunday afternoon, that called for muffins. So I made a batch of date muffins using these sweet blue and white pans. Any excuse to bake!

chicken or the egg?

I blame the supermarket. Christmas is barely over and now I've heard a rumour that hot cross buns are already on the shelves! Tell me it's not so.

It's bad enough that climate change is eroding the seasons, now Christmas and Easter are roughly in the same month?

Maybe this is why I found myself with a box of blue chickens. I think I was on auto-pilot - suddenly my head was full of Easter, potential craft projects, eggs, chickens, chocolate. Or maybe it was their tiny scarves keeping their little necks warm. Hmm. What to do with them...

Randoms pics and ponderings.

My idea of indoor plants...bit of ivy inside lasts for ages.

These tiny magnets were in my Christmas stocking.

Our new kitchen hutch below. Picked up for $95. Needs a bit of paint, but pretty happy with it.

Mmm. Mango time. The best on a hot day.

Thrifing goodness - sweet little honey pot.

This is the totally lovely Babuska softie that Emma gave me for Christmas...isn't it beautiful? Made from vintage fabric...a lot of work - her face is just so sweet.

Two plates I bought Emma for Christmas...Babushka and green bird from the delightful Douglas&Hope.

I thought I'd exhausted the topic, but not quite. Still spending time tootling about in the craft room - picking things up, putting them down, over here? Over there? Just right. Not quite. Haven't done any actual crafting yet, but I'm confident that will happen, when every thimble and pin has a place to call home. Actually, that's not true! I made curtains for both bookcases! Emma fired up the drill and put up some fantastic shelves and I made ribbon and balsa wood shelves for the really tiny & light stuff. I've started listening to Craft Sanity while I make stuff & I love it. Inspiring, funny - great creative resource.


Here are two of three very crowded pin boards...

A dolly detail. My Mum gave me these little dolls years ago...they were vintage way before me.

Brilliant Orriettacat postcard in the back - chickens getting ready for (shhhhh) easter.

Shelves heaving already.

Mini B to keep me company.

Wonderful Antonius set from IKEA.

Actually - curtain are a bit long. Must take note.

Thanks for having a look.

The Craft Room Cometh...slowly.

Come on in and take a look around. Mind your step. This is Day 2 of getting the Craft Room in shape. We're running out of shelves so off to Ikea to get that sorted.


What a mess.

Fabric to fold...again.

Hey Buzz.

The girls are adjusting.

Can't wait until everthing is in its right spot...then I'll start cranking up the sewing machine.

Books for inspiration - lots of Japanese craft books to keep me going...

I have so many tiny thing - little, bitsy things to find a home for...

& boxes of ....stuff to sort. I have two old typewriters??? Apparently.

Don't mind the gorilla - perfectly harmless. He loves ironing.

This part looks almost organised...all smoke&mirrors. How heavy is a stack of Martha Stewart Livings? Very.

Can you see the mere slither of gap above that tall bookcase? Oh yeah. Of course we measured it BEFORE we painted it...NOT. We were so very lucky.

Come back soon. Thanks for looking.