Christmas Decoration Sneak Peek!

I have been busy crocheting.

Brooch SALE

I am discontinuing my current line of brooches. It's time to move on to new designs. As a result I have put them on sale for $20 (including postage for Australian customers) until they all run out.

You can find the brooches in my etsy shop here. With Christmas just around the corner they could make good christmas presents.

I have already had a few sales so if you see something you like, grab it while you can. I have multiples of a small number of designs but if the listing says last one then that is it!

Vintage Crochet Patterns

Clark's and Coats Book No. 243 Pot Holders

This is one of the many vintage crochet patterns that I have purchased lately. Oops did I say many? Now that I can crochet I may have developed just a slight fascination with vintage potholders, vintage crochet motifs and crochet covered coat hangers.

The pattern booklet contains a variety of potholder patterns and was printed in 1948. At the moment I am dreaming of collection of potholders on my kitchen wall....

...but I must work on my Christmas decorations first!

Granny Squares

Granny squares made by me!

They are not too hard once you have mastered the basic crochet stitches, although I am still working out the finer details of an invisible finish.

I think I will save making a granny blanket until after summer. I want to try some smaller projects first and make some christmas decorations.

Camberwell Markets

I didn't go to the Camberwell markets at all during the winter, mainly because it was so cold. Yes I am a wuss!


Anyway I went this morning and there was lots of vintage goodness on offer.

I came away with a sugar bowl, a tablecloth and napkin set still in it's box (minus the lid), a set of 8 cross stitch napkins all with the same design and a selection of crochet patterns. All vintage and all in excellent condition.

It was a beautiful spring day for it too.

New in Store

New in my etsy store is this purse made out of denim and a vintage napkin that features a floral cross stitch design.

You can find it here.

OK Go - White Knuckles

If you love dogs you will love this film clip by the band OK Go and even if you don't I am pretty sure you will find it amazing anyway.

Spring Birds...

I won a giveaway that Belinda of Moonmum was running and these beautiful Spring Bird cards arrived in my letterbox this week.

The bright and cheery colours do remind me of spring and I can't get over how well made they are. The quality is really impressive.

I am feeling very lucky right about now, especially since these were the last Spring Bird cards that Belinda had left.

Crochet

I am learning to crochet!! and I am excited...hence the exclamation marks.

I have always wanted to learn how to crochet ( something to do with my love of doilies) but put it in the too hard basket because I am left handed and instructions for us lefties are scarce and trying to reverse everything is just too hard.

Anyway learning to crochet right handed has solved that problem and I have been taking classes at Onabee in Kensington. So far I have done Crochet 1.The Basics, Crochet 2.Granny Squares and will be starting Crochet 3.The Next Step soon.

At the moment I have been just practicing my technique but I am thinking about what I could do as my first proper project...something to do with granny squares I think.

My Birthday Wishlist

Sweet Bow Studs from Joannarutter

Monty the Fox Lambswool Plush from Sara Carr

Heart Factory from Pearson Maron

Silver Stitch Texture Ring from All Those Threes

Blue Is Bashful

ruby-jo brooches can now be found at Blue is Bashful, 109 Greville Street Prahran.

Blue is Bashful is a cute new shop selling pretty clothes and accessories with a vintage feel from independent womenswear labels with a focus on local labels.

If you want a peak of what else is in store you can check out their blog, or better still, go and visit in person.

The shop is just a short stroll from the Prahran railway station so it's easy to get to and it's nestled amongst a selection of interesting shops that include fashion, books, magazines and music, so its so it's worth the trip to have a look around.

Peppermint Magazine and How To Score Yoursef Some Discounts

The DUST team which I am a part of are running a promotion in the latest Peppermint magazine, where participating shops are offering discounts until the end of August.


Details on how to get the discount are in the add, including the discount code, so you will need to buy yourself a copy of the latest Peppermint magazine to take advantage of the offers.

I am offering 15% off. My shop is a little bare at the moment but I will be adding new items over the next week or so. I have trying to get the hang of photographing some new products which is proving to be a little difficult and slowing me down a little.

Sunday Stash #24

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo lately so have resurrected Sunday Stash to give me a gentle push in the right direction.

This is a screen printed fabric I bought off etsy.

More Birds!

I have been trying to get my hands on a set of geese measuring cups for ages.

I finally managed to score a set from ebay. They haven't been used and came in their original box.

I paid a little less than $20 including postage from America. I can't believe I was the only bidder.

Come Fly With Me

I have just uploaded another bird brooch to my etsy shop.

It has been featured over at Calico and Co in their latest Handmade Heaven post about birds which you can find here.

I only have 2 bird brooches left including this one and then that's it. Unfortunately I can't get any more of the same bird buttons.

EDIT 21ST MAY

I just found out that my bird brooch has also been featured on Kid Independent, alongside some other beautiful brooches - which you can view here. Yay!

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.