Forgive me for I have sinned

Well what can I say --after stating at the beginning of the year that I would not buy anything new this year but only use what is in my stash I have fallen by the wayside.
My only excuse is I couldn't control myself--or I could say that if I didn't buy this stuff when I saw it I wouldn't find it when I was back in Canberra or the devil made me do it---but really I was in shops that I may never get back to again and I am not one to pass up opportunity when it knocks on the door.
Am I sorry that I purchased all this stuff well what do you think?
Am I going to use it this years in my TIF challenge pieces?--you betcha.
Do I feel guilty ?--Nah not one bit.
OK-- I got this knobbly wool on special and it just jumped into my basket and dragged the brown fibre with it.




These mother of pearl buttons will be used in my CQ blocks




And these hand painted buttons were a little expensive but I think they were worth it

I had told Stephen I wanted to find a button shop and he looked up the yellow pages and found a little shop in the next block to where we were staying.I had to climb several flights of stairs and wander down dingy corridors to get to it but wow was it worth while.When I told the lady I was looking for single buttons in various sizes she ushered me to an area that had drawers full of buttons in single colours and here is the result.


I needed the pink thread for this months challenge and the trim--well I just loved it.

The Sari silk followed me home as well-----------

While in the same building where I got the buttons the sales lady asked had I been to the Japanese shop on the same floor as they were---well I had to go and take a look didn't I.

These fabrics are Japanes cottons and each square is 7" x 7" and there are 9 in each pack.

These cottons are so soft to handle --well I had to have them too didn't I?

But the best of all was my trip to Chapel street in Prahan---there is a place there called "The Chapel street Bazaar" and whenever we go to Melbourne this is the first place I visit.

It is an amazing place--full of vintage stuff--bric-a-brac---retro clothes etc --but best of all there is a little "shop" full of vintage laces- buttons- ribbons-motifs-cords-trims--you name it this lady has it.

I could have spent all day in this place but I had to leave because it is only big enough for one customer at a time-I mean there is so much stuff in this small area (about the size of a bathroom) and the lady has a counter in there and all this vintage stuff is pinned on to the walls and hanging off the ceiling.

I mean it kept falling off the wall on top of her when I asked to see something--oh but it is just heaven.
So I got a lot of motifs and trims because this is one place that you have to buy things when you see them--as they won't be there when you go back.
These are the motifs I got(I have only shown 1 of each here).



I chose these motifs because I can cut them into sections--and the colours are unusual.



And leaves by the metre--one can not have enough leaves can they------------



And finally some more trims.



Ah now to get on with using them------------------

I'm Back !!!!!!!

Well I'm back from the big smoke--Melbourne that is--and what a fabulous time I had.
I can't believe how everything fell into place perfectly --no hiccups with the transport to and from the airports and a wonderful flight with Virgin Blue.
We had no sooner taken off and then we were landing.
We stayed in the centre of Melbourne in Collins street which made it so easy to get around by either tram or train.
And the hilite for me was to finally meet Dot of the Dotee doll fame---and what a lovely lady she is too.
We talked nonstop for 2.5 hours like life long friends and could have continued for a lot longer but Dot had to catch the train home.
Thanks Dot for taking the time to come and visit us.




When we got home there was this lovely ATC for Ebony from Lise in Norway waiting for us.
Ebony loves it Lise.

You will have to wait until tomorrow to see what I spent my money on.

FME and Tassels

On Thursday I made about 12 tassels and I trimmed them off into the rubbish bin--all those wonderful fibers - different textures and beautiful colours.
I thought that I should keep them and make some fabric out of them but then decided I didn't have time.
Well I forgot to empty the bin before Ebony arrived on Friday and as usual the first thing that she does is check out what "wonderful" things that I have tossed out that she just can't live without (does that sound familiar).
I recieved the biggest dressing down for tossing out the fibers "How can you throw out this wonderful stuff Nanny?"
Every piece was retrieved and so I decided to show her how to make "Pizza fabric"( well that's what I call it anyway)
We sandwiched the fibers between 2 sheets of Vliesofix and ironed them all together then this was ironed onto some Kunin felt and a lovely piece of bright pink Organza that she received from Paula was placed on the top and ironed on.
The whole piece looked lovely -so I asked her if she would like to do some FME and as the first photo shows she jumped right in.
I couldn't get her to remember "slow hands and fast feet" all she could think of was slow feet and fast hands.
So there are some long stitches on this piece--but then I remembered my first attempt and it wasn't much better.
After this was finished I showed her what would happen when I put the heat gun on it--she liked what it did but was afraid of the heat gun itself --thank goodness for that as it is one tool that I don't have to worry about her using on her own.






Here is the finished piece it is A4 size and I am so proud of what she achieved.
She wanted to know if it would be expensive to make a lot of these pieces and make a quilt.
Does that mean I will have to keep on making a lot of tassels--I hope not.

And talking about tassels here are 2 of them that I made for my daughter to take to her friend who she is visiting in New York at present.

Well that's it for a few days as I am off to Melbourne for a short holiday ---can't wait as I think they have the best shops there---look out credit card you're in for a busy time.

Trades with Paula and Moo

Recently Paula sent Ebony some fabrics and stuff for her to make some ATC's with so Ebony decided she wanted to trade with Paula to say thank you and I traded as well.
Here are the two ATC's that Paula sent to us but she forgot to say what card was for which person.
Well you know me I said to Ebony that she could have whichever one that she wanted thinking that she would take the fairy on the toadstool.
But no to my great pleasure she wanted the one on the left which is titled Patterson's Curse--which is a weed that grows in the open fields in Australia in the summertime.
The reason that she chose this one was because when we went on our holidays last year she had noticed the Patterson's curse on the hills and admired the colours.
If you want to see the ATC's that we sent to Paula click here.



The next card is for Ebony from Paula's three and a half year old daughter Moo who wanted to get in on the fun as well.
I bet you can all see that Moo has drawn a beautigul Fairy can't you.
Ebony loved Moo's drawiing especially since she still has pictures that she drew when she was a toddler.

Thanks to both Paula and Moo --we love them.

May TIF Challenge

This is the colour pallette that Sharon has given us for the May TIF challenge.
Now I think I can deal with this one without too much trouble.
Listed below is what Sharon wrote about the concept for people who choose to do that part of the challenge--me I'm sticking with the colour and my CQ blocks.
Bring it on.




(((How do you describe yourself as an artist? One moment I am doing one thing that could be described easily as Art and the next I am doing something else that is craft! One moment my curiosity has lead me to to look at something quite strange as beautiful like the mould that grows on food in the fridge and the next I am looking at something most people would find familiar and boring and finding it fascinating like the bubbles in the washing up water.
Have you noticed that the term maker is being used to describe the activity of various people who may in the past be referred to as crafts person, or applied artist? For instance the British Crafts Council provides some interesting and thoughtful reading but in the Makers in Focus which looks at the working environment of West Midlands people producing crafts, the term ‘maker’ is used to encompass practitioners who variously describe themselves as craftspeople, or applied artists.
One of the ways I try and make sense of what I do is by defining what ever it is, as clearly as I possibly can. I think most people do that. The way I see it is if you can’t talk about what you do, or haven’t taken care in how you think about what you do, how do you expect others to respect the way you spend your time? Or how do expect people to respect what you make?
OK there is a few questions in the passage above but this month the challenge question is what do you call yourself and why?
Hopefully this will have everyone scratching their head but if you don’t like the challenge question you can elect to use the colour scheme instead.)))

I'm going to do an Online class

I've done it---I have finally signed up for an online class at Joggles.com
I have always wanted to know the ins and outs of making journals (well not making one but using one) but was to much of a wimp to have a go--but when I saw this on Sharon Boggon's blog yesterday I thought now is the time.
After all who better to learn from than Sharon.
It commences on June 27th so if you are interested come and join me.
Here is the link to sharon's blog that will tell you all about it.

http://sharonb.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/my-new-online-course-is-available/

Cards from Pat

Yesterday I received my April Calendar Girls postcard from Pat.
The background is a base of dyed silk cocoon strippings with hilites of gold foiling scattered over it.
The paper flowers have beed dyed to match and are sewn on with buttons.
Check out the size of the buttons on the small flowers.
It is so pleasing to the eye --I love it Pat.




Also in the package was this beautiful ATC for Ebony -which was a surprise and luckily she was here when I opened it and seeing as yellow is her favourite colour (at the moment) it was an even bigger thrill.
Pat also included some laces and embellishments for Ebony but I can't show you because she has used them on some ATC's that she made last night to swap with others.




Ebony said thank you also Pat.

Recent Mail in and out.

Recently I did a swap with Maureen x and I have already shown the ATC's that she sent me and I can now show you the ones that I sent her because I know that she has received them .
The one on the left has a base of silk paper with FME stitching on it and the one on the right is wet felted with both FME and hand stitching.
Both of these ATC's were made from pieces that I had done before that were hidden away in boxes so I decided to recycle them as ATC's.




The lovely pink CQ heart was also sent to me by Maureen as a swap---------------------

And I sent her in return this tassel----------------

I also received from Domi this collaged ATC---------------

And this is the one I sent her in return.

The base of this card is a baby wipe that I was using to clean my stamps with.

I loved the colours so I decided to keep it.

When I got my embellisher I decided to lay it on some commercial felt and run it through the machine and it looked good.

I have done some hand stitching on it which is a bit difficult to see in this photo.

Thank you Maureen and Domi

TIF April Block

Finally I have finished my April block for the TIF Challenge.
Because I usually love working with these colours I thought it would be a breeze--but not so.
I really struggled with this block because everything that I chose to use looked very dull and boring.
I also changed the way I pieced the block in that the size of the different fabric pieces are larger than I normally do and I think this may have added to the problem.
I think I unearthed every bit of lace - silk ribbon - trims and buttons and beads that I owned to come up with this finished piece but I think in the end it has worked---well I like it anyway.
All the fabrics in this block are second hand--picked up at charity shops or trade tables.
In fact I think the only things on this block that I had previously purchased new before this challenge started are the silk ribbons and the butterfly motif--so the stash has reduced once more but not that much that it can be noticed.

Now to see what May brings..........

I have finally made something to show

I have just realised that I haven't updated for a week--where did those days go?
Several weeks ago Ebony had her 8th birthday and so many of you sent her birthday wishes but she also received a parcel from Paula in Queensland.
Now to say that I was envious would be an understatement.
When she opened it there were a huge pile of patchwork squares -laces-ribbons-ricrac-fibres-embroidery floss-buttons-beads and sequins all for her to make ATC's with.
When Ebony saw all those squares she decided that she wanted to make a little quilt.
She proceeded to lay the squares out on the floor--shifting them around until she had them arranged the way she wanted them -I tried to give advice but in her usual manner she knew what she was doing so I let her do it after all it was her quilt.
So I pinned them together and set the sewing machine up and away she went.
She now has 4 rows of 5 lots of 5inch squares stitched together.
Now let me tell you she wanted to finish the whole thing before she went to bed - yikes.
I allowed her to choose the fabric for the sashings and borders-again I had to keep my opinion to myself but I think it will be very nice when it is finished.
I am not going to show it to you until she does a little bit more so you will just have to wait a while----sorry.





I decided to make Paula a tassel to thank her for her generosity towards Ebony and I hope that she liked it--well I know she did because she has let me know.

Ebony and I each made an ATC to swap with Paula as well--mine is needle felted and Ebony"s is a card one that says Thank You to Paula.

You know I am truly amazed at the way the blogging community are so caring and encourage Ebony in all that she does----Thank you everyone.

Even more ATC's and some Art Dolls

Well we have been inundated with ATC's this last week.
Ebony has been trading her ATC's and I have been swinging on her coat tails.
Last month she made some ATC's and swapped them with some wonderful people and I have been lucky enough to receive one as well from some of them.

The first two are from Jacqueline--Ebony chose the one on the left.
Thank you Jacqueline.



The next two are needle felted and they are from Francoise mine is the top one.
Thank you Francoise.

These two are from Carol T and Ebony chose the one on the left--I think she liked all the beads---they are both beautiful -thank you Carol.

These two are mine and I am so lucky to have them.

I swapped one with Maureen x but when it had arrived there were two in the packet--they are gorgeous and the stitching is so beautiful.

Maureen also included Miss Prim for Ebony-she's the tall lady---and the other one is a domino doll from Jan which arrived several weeks ago and I forgot to take a photo of it.

Thanks again to all the lovely ladies we are absolutely overwhelmed.

April TIF

The April colour palette for Sharon Boggan's TIF challenge has been posted and it definitely says Autumn.



I have made my block and you won't believe it but I haven't one single dark brown piece of fabric in my stash --not one---and seeing as I am only going to use what I have in my stash I don't have brown in this block.

Here is a photo of the Ornamental Grape that grows over our pergola and it is in full Autumn colour---what more could I want for inspiration than this.

Now to get on with the best part--the embellishing.

Arte y Pico award

I have been given the Arte y Pico award by Jacqueline and Jan and I thank them both for thinking me worthy of this award.

There are 5 rules attached to this and they are :

-1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte Y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules..
It is a very difficult decision but....Here are the people that I have chosen---

Julie who makes the most incredible mixed media art--from found objects.

Susan for her incredible forsight in arranging the Cyber Fyber exhibition.

Dot who is the most generous person I know in blogland and makes amazing art as well.

Annica for her persistence in creating a small piece of art every day for a month as part of the TIF challenge

Nellie for her amazing art quilts that are breathtaking.

Excellent Blogger Award

Sharon has kindly awarded me the E for excellence award for which I am honoured to receive.

I would like to pass this award on to so many bloggers whose work I admire very much and who have helped me along the way on this incredible journey but I am going to give it to 2 lovely ladies whom I have met this year and who both work in very different mediums.

The first is Jan in the UK who does the most amazing mixed media work

and is so generous with her ideas.

The other is Judith in New Zealand whose Silk Ribbon Embroidery and Crazy Patchwork inspires me to achieve a higher standard in my hand embroidery.

Thank you to both ladies for your inspiration.

April PC for Carol M

Here is my April Calendar Girl's Postcard for Carol M.
I thought that I would try something different this time in fact I made several different versions but this is my final choice.
I started with a sheet of primed artist's canvas and coloured the background by sweeping a blue stamp pad lightly over it.
I then painted the flower which was on the right hand side of the calendar page and added some hearts as well.
Now I don't profess to be an artist but I had a go and it does have child like qualities don't you think?

I felt it needed more so I inserted a red heart shaped brad in the centre of the flower then I painted a coat of gloss Mod Podge over the card and I placed a sheet of white tissue over this.
When this dried a repeated the Mod Poge and tissue once more to give the whole thing a misty appearance.
I outlined all the flower and hearts using Fabrico fabric pens.
I hope you like it Carol.
If you would like to see the other Calendar Girls postcards just scroll down and click on the Calendar Girls badge on the left hand side.

More ATC's and a book

More ATC's --this time from Anne L who lives in France but doesn't have a blog.
I love swapping with Anne who does the most amazing cross stitch designs.
The tree and butterfly card is supposed to be for me and the other one was for Ebony but I have decided to swap with her because I actually like the sampler one--although I haven't asked Ebony yet.
Thank you Anne as usual they are beautiful.



Also I have received an early Mother's Day gift from my daughter Susan who purchased this book for me via the Internet from a second hand dealer in the UK.
I have wanted this book for ages since seeing about it on Sharon B's blog last year when I was doing the TAST challenge.
It has every hand embroidery stitch imaginable in detail so there will be no stopping me now.
Thank you Susan I love it.

ATC's from Ati

Yesterday these two lovely ATC's arrived from Ati in Norway.
The one on the left is for Ebony and the one on the right is for me.
It has been a lot of fun for Ebony and I to swap with my blogging friends together.
Thank you Ati we both love our ATC's very much.

Happy Birthday Ebony

Today 31st March is Ebony's 8th Birthday and yesterday we took her and 5 of her special friends out to the Pancake Parlour for lunch and then we went to see the Dr Seuss movie "Horton Hears A Who".
What a great kids movie it is-the girls all thought it was fantastic and the adults loved it as well.
Ebony had to get all poshed up with her own idea of fashion including her Mum's earings and lipstick.




And of course Nanny had to make her a cake--it had to be a sponge cake with cream and icing.
Looked more like a wedding cake really but she thought it was fantastic and more to the point it tasted good as well.

Book Workshop

I went to a workshop on Friday and I made this little book.
I love creating these little gems --they are full of unusual sized pages and pockets with ribbons and fibres to finish them off.
This is the cover but I am not sure about the papers we were given in the kit--not my taste really.



The inside cover front and back had a pocket in it which held several tags with fibres and ribbons.

Inside were odd shaped pages that were covered in different papers -- rub ons were used to embellish as well as metal tags.

There are more pages but it was difficult to photograph them--so I took a photo from above to give you an idea.

A great work shop with plenty of ideas to use in future projects.

Postcards and ATC's

I can't believe that I haven't posted for a week--I have been busy but I don't have anything that I can show you that I have done................but I do have my March Calendar Girls postcard from Lynda.
Lynda has printed the words onto watercolour paper and then she has printed the vase and flower onto acetate and stitched it down only along the top edge so that the acetate can be lifted up to reveal the words.
When I was trying to take a photo I kept getting a pink look to it and I was getting cranky until I realised that Lynda had printed a pink background on the acetate along with the flower.
If you want to know how she did the postcard you can go here to find out.
Thank you Lynda as usual it is beautiful.
If you want to see all the other wonderful postcards that the team have created go take a look on the blog here




Then there are these 2 ATC's that Ebony has received from her swap recently--she is so pleased with them.
The one on the left is from a friend of mine who lives in Canberra and has asked Ebony to do a swap every month with her--how fantastic is that.
The one on the right is from Robin in Queensland who is a new blogger and she is doing wonderful things as well--drop over and visit her and see for yourself.

Easter Thoughts

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy Easter---
If you have family visiting enjoy their company---
If you are driving to visit family please take care on the roads which get very busy at this time of the year---
But most of all remember just what this time of the year is really about and why we celebrate Easter.
Happy Easter everyone.