New Glasses

I have new glasses (and a new haircut)so I thought that I would show you---please ignore all the skin blemishes-the doctor told me that it happens when you get older-what about the double chin as well.

Ah well that's me anyway.

Dying Day

Early this week I went to my friend Suzannes place and we did some more dying in preparation for selling at the Guilds annual exhibition.
After we had all the important fabrics-threads-and laced dyed we had some dyes left and I decided to cram jar a few bits and pieces to see what the outcome would be.
Among what I shoved into the jar were these paper napkins.
They are not like the ordinary thin napkins that you see in some restaurants --these are large and thick and they feel like they are made of cotton.
I discovered them a few years back when I was taken to a posh restaurant by a friend and I kept mine and while playing with inks at home one day I discovered that they held the dye brilliantly and I decided to make some paper beads with them.
Until recently I had not seen them anywhere else-but I went out to lunch with a friend after attending the Guild and lo and behold this place had these napkins.
I instructed my friend not to make a mess on her napkin and I neatly folded up mine and put it in my bag as well as taking the other two which were also on the table-(cheeky).
Now I had 4 pristine white napkins to play with.
Back to the dying---I didn't know if they would fall to pieces or not but I poked them in the jar with the dye and soda ash and waited to see what would happen.
The dyes were procion in magenta-sun yellow and intense blue.
As you can see they all have a strong magenta colour --------the first one was on the top and the yellow and blue colours are visable.

This one was in the middle and only the yellow got through to it---------------------

The final one was on the bottom and is only pink and it is half the size of the others.

I think I will stitch on them and make book covers out of them.

Another Bargain

I hadn't realised that it has been 2 weeks since I have posted anything here but I have had an excuse---honestly---because we have had the pesky flu running rampant through our family and I am fed up with it.
All is back to normal now thank goodness but I haven't any stitching to show because I haven't finished anything.
But I do have another Op-Shop find.
Yesterday I had to work at our church Op-Shop because the lady who is in charge on Thursdays has taken 3 weeks leave and I am the person who fills in for her.
Now it turns out that the other lady who was working yesterday is the "bag lady"--she is in charge of pricing the bags and putting them in the shop.
My lucky day-------so look what she was putting out---this fabulous black leather shoulder bag and it only cost me $5.
It was shouting at me "Don't let her put me out there Doreen--I want to come home with you".
Well what was I to do?
This is the front that has a pocket------------------------------


And the back which has a zip---------------


And the inside that has two sections---one section also has a zippered pocket in it and the other has a place for my mobile.

I have two more Thursdays to work this month so who knows what I will come home with next time.

Op-Shop Find

Today I went down to our church op-shop (thrift shop-charity shop) because I had taken home last week 14 Barbie and Ken dolls to wash and also wash their clothes.
I spent ages washing Barbies hair and coming it and if you have ever spent time doing that for your little ones you will understand it when I say what a time wasting job it is.
Anyway I digress--while I was there I noticed this wooden sewing box that had just been donated.
The stars sparkled in my eyes when I was told it was only $5 and my hand was in my purse quicker than a rabbit down a hole.
It is missing the handle that goes up and over the centre section but I can understand why it has been removed because I think it would have gotten in the way.
The man of the house said he could put new handles on it but I think I will decline the offer.

The lid on the top opens up and then----------

The centre section concertinas out and has all these little compartments.

What a treasure.

It is Finished

I have finally finished the scarf that I started several months ago and I think it looks rather nice.
It only took me a couple of hours to complete it--probably 4 hours from start to finish and I didn't use one complete ball either.
Now the big test is will it be warm or not.

My only complaint is that it was so awkward to knit that I won't be rushing off to make another one in a hurry.

Gifts from Gina

Recently when I was in Melbourne I met up with Gina(see post below) and she gave me this lovely gift.
It is a mug rug...."A mug rug" I hear you ask "what's a mug rug"
Well a mug rug is a placemat for you to put your mug of coffee on and there is also room for a couple of biscuits as well.
I tried to scan it sideways but the scanner wasn't playing ball.
What a neat gift.

Then this week I received this ATC from her as well.."gingham and cherries" it is called.

Thanks Gina.

Melbourne photos

Here are some photos of Ebony taken on the last day of our trip.
The first one is on the plane waiting for our take off--she looks a bit tired --in fact we both look a bit tired.





This one was taken while we were waiting for the traffic lights to change.
In the background is the Flinders Street Station which is the central point for the trains in the city.
By this stage she was sick of me taking photos of her but I wanted her to have a record of her first trip to Melbourne.







This was in the Lego exhibition--it was so clever what they were able to do with these tiny blocks.

Here is a dinosaur built from Lego blocks--brilliant.

When we got back Ebony decided that she wanted me to teach her to knit again and I think she has got it this time.

Here is the photo of Gina (my blogging friend)and myself taken in our apartment.

We didn't have anyone else there at the time to take the photo so we set up my camera on the timer and took
it--so I am sorry about the flash off our glasses it couldn't be helped.

What a lovely lady Gina is and it is amazing how well we bloggers get on together when we meet for the first time--there definitely is a great friendship that is created from blogging.

Now back to stitching--I have an order for my silk ribbon button brooches that must be done by Thursday so I must get into it.

I'm Back

Well I have been back since Friday but I have been trying to get things sorted out and get all the washing and ironing done.
Had a great time in Melbourne--met up with some friends,one being Gina a blogging mate and I will show you a pic when I get them all sorted out.
Ebony had a wonderful time and she loved her first trip on a plane--well when we finally got up in the air that is.
I am not sure how many of you are aware of it but we have had problems with the ash from the Chile volcano eruption.
We weren't affected in Canberra-that wasn't the problem but the problem was in Melbourne.
We were supposed to fly out of Canberra at 10.05am,so our daughter dropped us off at the airport at 9am and went home, only for us to discover that our flight had been cancelled and we were rescheduled to fly out at 5pm.
So they booked our luggage in and we decided to go back home--in a taxi--$55 later.
Then we decided that we would take our car when we went back to the airport and leave it in the longstay car park.
On arrival we discovered that the flight was now delayed until 6.30pm.....grrrr.
Now I can hear you asking why didn't we phone up and find out if the plane was still going to be on time--well I did try to do that but there was a permant delay on the phone due to the fact that everyone else was trying to do the same thing.
6.30pm came and went and we finally got off the ground at 7.30pm.
We arrived in Melbourne at 8.15pm and were booked into our apartment by 9pm.
That was one day lost from our holiday...grrrr
On Friday we had to be out of our apartment by 10am but we left our luggage there and headed out to see the Lego exhibition which was magnificent.
We left there at 11.30 and Stephen decided that he couldn't be bothered tramping around so we went back and got our luggage and headed off to the airport arriving there about 12.30pm.
The only problem was our plane didn't leave until 3.30pm....more waiting ....grrrr.
Another half a day wasted...... grrrr.
I'm glad that I am home but I don't want to see another airport for a long time.

Foiled Again

A few more pieces of hand dyed laces that I have foiled as part of the Gilding the Lily workshop run by the Thread Studio.
The first one is a bridal fabric (Guipure lace flowers) --it is hard to see exactly how wonderful they look because foiling doesn't scan or photograph very well.






Again another piece of bridal lace that was hand dyed and it is foiled with the pewter coloured foil.

Lastly this is part of an old collar that was hand dyed and foiled with the same pewter colour.

I won't be posting for a week as we are off to Melbourne for a small holiday and taking Ebony with us.

The weather has been cold here lately and it is nearly as bad in Melbourne.

I noticed that their minimum overnight temperature one night this week was 8 degrees Celsius ---lucky them --our highest temperature one day this week was 8 degrees Celcius.

Oh well I'll just chuck another jumper in the suitcase.

See you when I get back.

Second Time Around

Last year I signed up for the Gilding the Lily workshop with Dale at the Thread Studio but somehow I never did get started on it so I have decided to join in again this year.
First up we are using foil and I have been foiling everything in sight.
First up is a croched doiley that I dyed last year when we were dying fabrics for the exhibition.
I like the way that the gold foil has stuck to some of the raised sections adding hilites to the piece.





This piece of fabric is from a blouse and was tossed into the dyepot at the same time.
I only foiled two of the leaves and I rather like the effect.

Here we have a piece of Panne Velvet that I placed a stencil on top of and sprinkled Audrey's Bonding powder over it-then removed the stencil.

Next I placed the foil over it and ironed it.

I think that I will stitch around the edges at a later stage.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr Solved

I have received an e-mail from MA saying how to fix the Blogger comment problem and I thought I would pass it on if anyone else is having this problem.
She has seen it on someone else's blog but I had discovered it myself somehow and I had forgotten to let you know.
Thanks for reminding me MA.
This is how it is solved.
************************
"When you sign in to your
google account, uncheck the
stay signed in button

***************************

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I am having trouble leaving comments on blogs that have a word verification attached.
I seem to be able to leave comments on ones that don't ask for verification but on ones that do ask I have to type in the word and when I enter it I keep getting taken back to the sign into my account section.
So I resign in and a new word verification pops up and my message now says the "Anonamous" said--blah blah etc.
I don't know where to look to rectify this problem--can anyone help me-pleeasse?
I think Big Bad Blogger is taking his problems out on us and I wish he would get over whatever it is that has upset him.
Grrrrrrrrrr.

Get thee behind me Satan !!!

Well after I spent 2 weeks sorting my workroom out and taking stuff to the Guild for the recycle table what did I do?
Yep you got it right I went and ordered more stuff from Dale at The Thread Studio.
How can I resist when she keeps buying in all the things that I just can't live without :#)).
First up were these cards of felt rope --the colours are so beautiful and I only purchase 7 of them but there are a lot more colours.
Oh and I did buy 7 --there is a lovely green one but it decided to drop onto the floor and I didn't realise until I had posted the photo here.
I can see many projects coming from these.

Next there are these lovely hand made buttons --so beautiful.

And lastly Dales latest little book--this time about what you can do with the fabulous Sari silk ribbons that she sells.

I have several bundles of the Sari silks and I could only think of a few things to make with them-but now I have plenty of ideas after reading what Dale has created.

Sorry about the flash on the book but you can get a good idea as to what the book looks like.

What's going on here?

Well let me tell you there is nothing creative going on that's for sure.
I have spent 10 days sorting out stuff in my "studio" and I use that term very loosely at present.
I was looking for something--I can't even remember what it was anymore--but like what usually happens one thing lead to another and the next thing that I knew I was cleaning-sorting-tossing out-rearranging, you know what I mean---a bit like shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic just shifting things around.
Well I now can see the desk and what's more I can see carpet again.
The recycle table at the Guild will make a huge profit on all the stuff that I took in there.
Then Stephen decided to re-cover the back yard area with new mulch---and I decided to help.
You girls would have been proud of me--shovelling all that lovely mulch into the wheel barrow so that he could spread it around.
There was almost 100 wheelbarrow loads full and I was on a roll.
Then we decided that we wanted to take Ebony on her first plane flight--to Melbourne.
So I was on the internet booking the tickets and the accommodation--got that all sorted out--but then realised the next day that I had booked the flight for one week and the accomodation for the next week.
Geez how many senior moments can one person cope with.
Anyhow it is now sorted out and the dates finally coincide and I have made arrangements to meet up with our dear friend Dot (of Dotee doll fame who no longer has a blog).
Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep the secret from Ebony until closer to the time when we leave.
Next I need to get back in that lovely tidy room and make a new mess.
Yee-haw.

Finished--Done--No More

That's it--no more--I am happy with what I have achieved so you don't have to put up with my rabbiting on about Creative Canvas samples anymore.
I have made two scissor keepers (fobs) which I am going to donate to the sales table at the annual exhibition(minus the scissors of course) and I have one to finish for myself and that's it.
I am glad that I persevered with this but I now know that it is something I had to try and I have satisfied the burning desire that I had for learning how to do it--but I don't want to do anymore.

I don't know if you can see the beads and gold thread or not but they are there.

A few more

I have been sick for several days with a cold/flu like lurgy so I have been doing a few different patterns to keep myself amused.
I am coping very well at present with these designs--as long as they don't get any bigger I should be ok.






I have made a small tassell and some cord to go with this pink/purple one

And I rather like this one made in Variegated thread----with a tassell--now I have to make the cord.

All I have to do is add some beads to them and I will be able to make them all up----whoo hooo.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures but my scanner was not behaving itself tonight.

By George I did it

Well I did a small sample anyway.
Firsly I would like to thank those who commented on my last post--you all got me thinking about why I was going through the frustration of trying to learn how to do Canvas Work.
I realised that I wasn't trying to be good at it -I just wanted to know how to do it.
I have admired this form of embroidery for a long time but I was always daunted when it came to doing it.
Finally on Monday I had a lightbulb moment---I realised that it was the size of the piece of canvas that was terrifying me not the working of the stitches.
We have all had that experience whether it be a piece of fabric or a sheet of artist paper--when we have a big blank object in front of us where do we start.
On Monday at the Embroiderers Guild someone gave me a bundle of offcut pieces of tapestry fabric about 6cm wide which I imagine had been trimmed off the edge of something that they had worked on.
I brought some of these pieces home with me to practise on and voila I could do it.
No problems -no fears just happy little stitches smiling back at me---well a couple of them got in the wrong holes but I managed to see them before I got too far along the row.
These little blocks are only 3 cm square and I think I will make them into a scissor keeper.
I will add some tiny beads in the centre and make a cord to go around the edge and also form a loop to attach to the scissors plus I will make a small tassel to hang off the end.

I think I will try another design and see how that goes.

What's my problem?

This year I decided that I would attempt to learn new techniques in embroidery and several things have been offered at the guild that I thought I would try.
First there was the Japanese darning and you have seen the results of that class.
Next it was Long and Short stitch---well I haven't shown you that because I am embarrased.
I hate doing Satin stitch--when I did Sharon Boggans first TAST online challange it was the only stitch that I did not do a sample of--hate-hate-hate it.
Long and Short stitch to me is another name for Satin stitch-I know you are saying to me under your breath "No it isn't" but my tiny brain is telling me otherwise.
Well we had a 3 hour lesson and all I came home with was a design drawn on a piece of fabric with holes in it where I had stitched and unpicked so many times that it looked like a seive.
Are you still with me?
So on Saturday at our Creative group we were shown how to do Creative Canvas work by one of our Guild members who is brilliant at it.
OK -below is the photo of how far I got.
Nothing -zip-zilch.
I threaded the needle and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get it to go through the fabric.
Oh it would go through it but my tiny brain was at work again-planting the seeds of doubt again.
I always struggle with counted thread work---but all I have to do is count in lots of four I hear you say.
I know-I know but it terrifies me.
When we had childrens classes at the guild there were several times where the lady who was the leader decided to teach them some canvas work and I thought "here's my chance" but I was humiliated--the children had all of there 3" x4" samples finished and I was still unpicking mine--oh the shame.
But I have decided that I will not let it beat me this time I am going to master it.

I know I can --I know I can--I know I can.:-(

The Box is Finished

Yeh----it is all stitched up-amd I am pleased with the outcome.
It was a very time consuming job stitching all the individual pieces together and the more pieces I had stitched together the harder it became but I got there in the end.
I have tried to take the best photo that I could without showing some of my donkey stitches (big and uneven) so that you still believe that I am a neat sewer.

At least it hasn't become another UFO tucked away somewhere.

The Two Faces of Ebony

This is a photo of Ebony that I took earlier this week.
She has had her hair braided by her mother and no it isn't all her own hair-she has hair extensions in it.
Oh and no she doesn't wear glasses either there are no lenses in the glasses--she just likes doing things like this just for fun.
She was also wearing a pair of red and white striped sox that came up over her knees and she had on a pair of dark blue denin shorts as well.
I am always amazed at what she turns up wearing but then her dad was the same when he was her age.




This is what she looked like the week before.