Against the Grain

I am mesmerised by the pencil animation in this music clip, so I thought I would share.

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

Heart Gift Tags

New from me - crochet love heart gift tags.  I have had the idea in my head for quite a while now and finally everything has come together.

The hearts have been crocheted by me in 4ply cotton with my own pattern (which can I say took quite a bit of trial and error)

They come with white or kraft coloured card and you can find them in my etsy store or big cartel store.

New Shop on Big Cartel

I have just opened up a shop on Big Cartel...no joining necessary to buy.  

You can access the shop HERE or from the "Shop" tab at the top of the blog.  

More stuff coming soonish.

Infinity Scarf

 I learned to crochet late last year, something I have been wanting to do for ages. You might recall I made some Christmas decorations as my first proper project and then forgot all about crochet for a while.

Anyway I have picked up the hook again and thankfully I remember most of what I was originally taught.  My first finished project (and first scarf ever)  is the infinity scarf that you can see in the photos, which is basically a scarf that is one big circle.  To wear it you wrap it around your head twice.

It's so easy to make that you don't really need a pattern.  I have made mine in treble crochet  using Cleckheaton Country Silk 8ply, which is a wool that has flecks of silk in it, giving the yarn some texture.

It's very warm to wear so I will be making a few more once winter comes around again.  The only change I would make is to shorten the length a little.

Sweet!

I have wanted to visit the Birch & Purchese Sweet Studio ever since I watched Darren Purchese cook off against Kate on Masterchef, and birthday week in our household was a perfect excuse to do so.

I should explain that the desserts looked picture perfect when they left the shop but unfortunately got a little battered on the way home as you can see in the photo. Entirely my fault. Luckily it didn't affect the taste!

From the top clockwise is Dark Chocolate, Pear Hazelnut, then Pistachio, Strawberry Rose, followed by Banana, Caramel, Rum and finally Chocolate, Mandarin, Salted Caramel. And not shown in the photo was Coffee Smoked White Chocolate, Coffee, Aniseed Lemon.

Just as you would expect they tasted amazing. My favourite was a toss up between the Chocolate,Mandarin,Salted Caramel and the Banana,Caramel, Rum.

I am still here!

Just letting you know I am still alive and well : ) I seem to have taken an unintended blog break. There hasn't been much going on creatively in ruby-jo land over the past little while so I guess that is probably why.

Anyway I am back on board again so stay tuned for some more regular posting.

Sunday

I took a trip to the Camberwell markets on Sunday to buy some vintage buttons from the "button lady" who has a regular stall there, but to my huge disappointment she wasn't there. I am just hoping her absence isn't a permanent thing.


I did manage to pick up a few lovely vintage glass buttons and a needlepoint picture so I didn't come away empty handed.....oh and some hot jam doughnuts!

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons!

Here is a selection of vintage buttons I bought at the Camberwell market on the weekend for a new project that I am working on....

Find me at the North Melbourne Market this Sunday

I am going to be at the North Melbourne Market tomorrow Sunday the 20th of Feb. It runs from 10am to 3pm and has a $2 entry fee.

As mentioned earlier I am going to have some of my old stock on sale including clutches and the last of the brooches.

I hope to see you there!

PS. If you are wondering why the pictures of my etsy shop that are normally in the right margin aren't there anymore it's because I have put the shop in vacation mode. It will be up and running again next week.

Been Busy...

Sorry for the lack of posts of late. I have been busy getting ready for the North Melbourne Market on the 20th Feb.

The photo is a sneak peak of my new range of zipper purses which will make their debut on the day.

I will also have some old stock on sale....more about that soon.

Christmas Decoration Close Up

I promised you a closer look so here they are.

The decorations were my first proper crochet project after learning how to crochet.



I used DMC Pearl Cotton embroidery thread to make them with a size 2.5mm hook which was a little tricky for a beginner but I had a small tree and so I needed to make the decorations small as well.

I was going to stiffen them but ran out of time to experiment so just gave them a press with the iron to flatten them out. I finished them off with some grey/silver ribbon to blend into my silver tree.


I also made some hearts using 8ply yarn which were easy in comparison.

Oh and I know I am a little late but Happy New Year!