The Progress So Far

I mentioned this kit from Subversive Cross Stitch in a previous post.

It has been quite fun to do and very easy to stitch.

I just have the border left to finish and then I am itching to cross stitch something else.

Photos from Yarraville

Here is the table I shared with Amelia from Milkwood.


My half of the table.


And a basket of cushions which wouldn't fit on the table.

If you look carefully on the pin up board in the second photo you can see I managed to get 2 heart brooches done.. well 3 actually, I wore one of them. They both sold so I will be making some more soon.

Jess from Epheriell dropped by to say hello which was lovely. It's always fun meeting people in real life when you know them from online. Jess has blogged about visiting us here.

Right now I am trying to recover from my cold, catch up on sleep, clean the disaster I left in my workroom and the mess in the rest of the house and catch up on about 2 weeks of bookwork.

Yarraville Markets

Just a reminder I am having a stall at the Yarraville Markets this Sat and Sun.

I am a bit under the weather but will still be there on both days if you want to come and say hi.

Sharing a table with me will be the lovely Amelia from Milkwood.

New Brooch In The Works

I have taught myself blanket stitch ( which isn't easy when you are left handed because no one seems to want to produce left handed instructions or diagrams! ) and am busy practicing it for a brand new brooch that I am really excited about.

I was hoping to have some of the new heart brooches ready for the Yarraville markets this weekend but I am running out of time fast....we shall see how I go.

A Bit of Fun

This cross stitch kit from Subversive Cross Stitch arrived in my letter box yesterday all the way from Texas.

It's a favourite saying of Ev's (never to me of course) and I can't wait to stitch it up.

Countdown to Yarraville Markets

I will be having a stall at the Yarraville Markets in Melbourne on the 1st and 2nd May. Yes that's 2 days.

It's going to be my first market ever so I am just a little nervous...okay more than a little.

I will be sharing a stall with Amelia from Milkwood, who makes gorgeous resin jewellery.

At the moment I am busy sewing stock to fill up my half of the table. I have a few new products in the works too, that I will be launching at the markets.

Stay tuned as I might just show you a sneak peak of what to expect as we get closer to the date.

Happy Easter!!

Easter25, originally uploaded by ewan traveler.

Hope you are having a restful day and not eating too much chocolate!

It's turned out to be a beautiful day in Melbourne.

Vintage Finds

The tin is from the Lost and Found Market on Smith Street. It's such a beautiful tin, quite large and in excellent condition. The inside has hardly aged at all.


The tablecloth and napkin set I bought from the Camberwell markets. As you can see it is still in it's original packaging. I am currently in love with anything cross stitched and this is in as new condition...just how I like it.

Storm Pics

Just thought I would share a couple of pictures of what it looked like out the front of Cyclic Bicycles when the storm hit Melbourne last week. Pin Oak crescent got a little flooded!

You can see in the top photo that the water came right up to the doorstep. Luckily we didn't suffer any water damage, although that's not the case for a whole lot of unlucky people across Melbourne.

The second photo is looking across the road from the shop at Newmarket train station.

Thank you to Marty for the photos.

Needlepoint

I found this vintage needlepoint in Savers late last year. I had been looking for some needlepoint for a while but hadn't come across much and nothing I really liked until I found this piece. After cleaning up the glass on the inside it turned out to be in perfect condition.

Chocolate ANZAC Biscuits

I thought I would give you my recipe for chocolate ANZACs. They are really yummy and super easy to make. They were actually the first thing I ever baked from scratch when I was living away from home. I love this chocolate version so much I have never actually made the non chocolate version.

TIP: If you already have an ANZAC recipe that you like all you have to do to make the chocolate version is add 1/4 cup of cocoa to the mix.

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CHOCOLATE ANZAC BISCUITS

Ingredients

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of desiccated coconut

¼ cup of cocoa powder

125 g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons of boiling water

1 teaspoon of bicarb soda

Method

Preheat oven to 150 °C

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine sifted flour and cocoa powder, sugar, oats and coconut in a bowl.

Melt butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat.

Dissolve bicarb soda in boiling water and then stir through butter mixture.

Combine butter mixture with dry ingredients and mix well.

Spoon heaped teaspoons of mixture onto the tray and lightly press each biscuit down with a fork.

Bake for 20 mins.

The biscuits will harden when cool.

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For myself, I like to tweak the recipe a bit and add a touch more butter for some extra moisture and cook them 10 mins longer because I like them to be slightly overcooked and really crunchy when they cool.

Enjoy!

Shop Update

I have uploaded a few more brooches to my etsy shop, including this new design made from linen and a vintage hanky which you can find here.

I seem to be drawn to vintage hankies at the moment - unused of course.

Not With The Good Scissors!

My favourite pair of earrings at the moment are the good scissors earrings from Melbourne gal Victoria Mason.

It's important to know that the good scissors are for fabric only and anyone who uses them on anything else is bound to get in a whole lot of trouble. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Monster Goodness

Yay! I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from Emma at Benconservato. The prize was a colouring book and a couple of postcards.

The colouring book is called Monsters Behaving Badly. I love it! It's fun and full of playful monsters.

You would expect at my age (over 30) that I left my colouring in days behind me years ago but there is something about the colourless pages that are begging me to colour them in. That's exactly what I plan on doing too just as soon as I get myself some crayons.

Getting Sorted for the New Year

Inspired by a blog post titled "Five easy ways to get organised!" over at Retro Age Vintage Fabrics, I decided to buy the book Sorted by Lissanne Oliver and have a go at organising myself.

I think it's a great way to start the new year, getting organised and clearing out clutter to make space for the new, including new ideas and new creativity. I love the idea of having life running more efficiently so I don't get bogged down in so much stuff.

Since I am currently drowning in paper I have started in the study. The plan is to do a little at a time and eventually get to my workroom. Wish me luck.

Oh and did I mention that I bought a copy of the book at the Camberwell markets for $3? Well I did. How's that for a bargain?

Merry Christmas!

Here are some yummy profiteroles which have become a Christmas tradition in our household. You wouldn't believe how many I made and there is only the 2 of us here to eat them, oh and the dog as well......he seems to have developed a taste for custard.

Wishing everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.

Christmas Rocky Road

I made this rocky road today as part of Evan's Christmas present.

It has white chocolate (Cadbury Dream actually because the supermarket was out of white choc melts), coconut, pistachios, mini marshmellows and turkish delight - the authentic kind from Real Turkish Delight.

Since it is warm here today I really need to keep it in the fridge but I don't really want him seeing it until Christmas so I have put it in a christmas tin I had which is great because he won't be able to see though it and I have taped it shut with packing tape and written a note on it that says DO NOT OPEN! I think that should do the trick. Luckily he almost never reads my blog so it won't ruin the surprise. I am about to go and dispose of the chocolate wrappers so he can't find them.

Christmas Giveaway

This brooch is part of a large Christmas giveaway on fatmumslim.blogspot.com

You have until Monday to enter and be in the running for about $600 worth of handmade goodies.

What are you waiting for?

Sunday Stash #23

Here is the vintage fabric scrap pack that I won from Retro Age Vintage Fabrics in their last blog giveaway. The fabrics are all around 15cm x 15cm give or take a few centimeters.

Secret Santa

Here is a purse I made for a secret santa present. It is smaller in size than the frame clutches I have have previously done.

I made it out of linen with a piece of vintage embroidery embroidery on the front that I salvaged from a napkin. And of course I had to include red and white lining.