Don’t you just love spring weather? The days are sunnier, warmer and getting longer, just perfect for
“massaging” this turtle’s back
hanging out at the playground
pottering in the vegie patch
and of course, washing and drying my fabric stash.
My OLD clothespin or peg bag bought from the $2 store back in the day when I didn’t know how to sew.
Hubby’s OLD jeans saved from being thrown out.
And tada, my NEW girly, ruffly peg bag made with his jeans and Art Gallery fabric that I won. What do you think? The fabrics were randomly thrown together as I had to use pieces of fabrics that were long enough for the ruffles.
I used 6 frills on the clothespin bag – 3 ruffled and 3 flat.
Added the yellow binding at the last minute to neaten up the whole bag. Also saved me from having to hem it as I doubt my sewing machine would have sewn through all those layers of denim.
Even used my overlocker for the second time to neaten up the raw edges. As you can see, a pretty roomy bag for my pegs. Hopefully, hanging out the washing will be a tad enjoyable from now on.
I’m not an embroiderer but everyone keeps a staple stash of embroidery floss, right? Well, I have them for those “just in case” moments when I don’t have to run out to buy them if I need it in a hurry. I seem to have collected a few things for those “just in case” moments, argh, but that’s another story for another day.
Anyway, when I bought these DMC flosses, they came in resealable bags which were stored in my all time favourite chocolate box – hmm…Ferrero Rochers. See, doesn’t look too bad, right? That is until I saw these,
some fun and cute printable thread bobbins, free to download from Wild Olive.
Not really sure how to wind the floss on the card properly but don’t they look adorable?
And organised. They look pretty cheerful too.
otherwise known as Baby Led Weaning.
The time has come for us to start on this explorative journey with our son. He has been interested in what we were eating from 4.5 months old but was not really ready to stat BLW as he could not sit well unsupported (very important before starting BLW). So one month on, we decided he should start. No pureed apple for this boy instead our 5.5 month old son is enjoying his “chip sized” apple. 
Even though BLW is not new to our family (nor is it a new concept) as we had practiced it with our daughter 3 years ago, I’m still amazed at how quickly they learn to get the food into their mouths. He’s been practicing for a week now and he gets better each time.
And yes, he can eat the apple with no teeth, as for those breastfeeding mothers who’ve been “gummed” before, you’ll quickly realise that they don’t need teeth to bite. (mind you, he prefers an apple that is not as crunchy as what I would like my apples to be). Here he is, learning how to swallow something a bit more solid than breast milk. So has he tried anything else? You betcha – cucumber, banana, toast, spelt biscuit and wholemeal lavash bread, hoping to add to the list when we go shopping next. If you’re interested, check out Gill Rapley’s website for more information (I read her book) or just google baby led weaning and you’ll find information to help you decide if BLW is right for your family.
Me, me, me. I won a giveaway at True Up sponsored by PatBravo.com and this is what I won.
A bag full of yummy Art Gallery fabric scraps.
Is that what they call them, scraps? They’re quite generous in size.
Also included in the giveaway is this toy box pattern, what a good idea, pretty, yet functional.
And don’t you just love the handles on the bag? Better picture here. It’s got that squishy, gel like substance in it, I’ve never seen a bag like that before.
Well, if you’ve never visited PatBravo.com before, go on (I know you want to) – check out her free sewing and quilting projects. I’m sure you’ll find something you like there.
Remember this post, well, more birthdays are coming up in my daughter’s Sunday school class, and even though the last birthday will be in November, I really wanted to finish sewing them all, so I can start on something new. I’m just not very good at starting many projects at once because I like to finish a project at a time, though having a few projects on the go might prevent boredom I think but nah, it’s just not in my make up to have various projects on the go.
Anyway, here they are, my last 4 totes, hoping to not make another one too soon. No appliques on these but some simple running stitches inspired by this project.
And this is what they look like from the back/side.
My woven labels from here that I have to now use in all my projects. I’m not sure when I’ll finish using 600 pieces of labels since I only sew for “fun”.
This was my first time sewing with invisible thread which I had in my sewing basket for a while and I actually quite like it. I didn’t have to adjust the tension as some have suggested, just make sure that you’re not using the invisible thread in the bobbin. As you can see, it’s not entirely invisible but still, it does hide my wonky top-stitching quite well (if you don’t look too closely).
And just for fun, my practice macro shot from my trusty 5 year old point and shoot camera. Still got so much to learn about photography.
on Etsy, what would you buy? Well, the guys at CraftGossip is giving away Etsy shopping sprees (each to a maximum value of $100) to 3 lucky readers. Of course, I could not pass up the chance to enter.
Now limiting myself to $100 was not easy (especially when you factor in postage to Australia) and I could have so easily gotten fabrics, patterns and notions for myself but I didn’t. Instead, I wanted to get something special for my children that I couldn’t (or have the time to) make myself. So my Etsy wish list includes this beautiful doll for my daughter, lovingly handmade by goodbyebluemonday.
Image from Etsy seller goodbyebluemonday
Isn’t she the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen? I love the details on her – from the buttons on her sailor pants to the star headband on her head, she’s just gorgeous. Even my daughter has fallen in love with her and at 28 inches, she’ll be a nice friend to lug around.
Image from Etsy seller littlesaplingtoys
For my son (who is 5.5 months old), this simple yet classic wooden teether from littlsaplingtoys as he is gnawing on just about anything at the moment,
Image from Etsy seller littlesaplingtoys
and these wooden cars from the same seller for when he’s a bit older. I chose these pieces as I’m a big fan of wooden toys (and puzzles) – they’ve got a timeless appeal to them and if made well, I often think they would last for a long time.
So that’s my Etsy wish list and for your chance to win your Etsy wish list, head on over to CraftGossip for more details, you have until the end of the month. Good luck.
Does anybody know why it is called a french memo board? I’m still trying to figure it out. Also known as fabric covered memo board, ribbon memo board, photo board, bulletin board, pin board, inspiration board and the list goes on. Yeah, just google any of those terms and you’ll see tutorials galore on how to make one of these.
These are not hard to put together. I used a cheapie stretched artist canvas as my board, lay the wadding (or batting) over it and finally, a piece of Amy Butler Nigella (woodfern – nickel) to cover it up. Then get acquainted with your staple gun and staple away (the fabric to the board). The next step, which I found to be the most challenging of this project was to decide how many criss-crosses I wanted on the board and to space them out evenly. Once all that is decided, staple away again to hold the ribbons in place. And that’s it really, unless…
you want to add buttons to the criss-crosses to give it the quilted look. I had to sew 24 buttons on without a thimble and my poor finger was a bit sore afterward. I’m thinking of using brads/split pins might just be easier and if using a cork board instead, I could use thumb tacks (or push pins) to hold everything in place.
Here, you can see the memo board in all its glory – the spacing is a bit wonky and uneven, but if we cover up with lots of notes and photos, it might not be noticeable. Yeah, maybe the recipient won’t notice it at all.
by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! fame. I had this tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew! downloaded from April last year (hence the name of the bags) but only managed to sew them up recently for a birthday gift.
This is the shoulder bag version (13″ high by 12″ wide) – the outer is a black and white home dec fabric from IKEA called Gunilla
and you can just see the lining of the bag – a lightweight fabric that is now discontinued from IKEA (but you can see it here).
The red bag handles are yet another Ikea home dec fabric called Lenda and they make the top of the bag gather like a drawstring. So pretty.
This sweet little handbag (10″ high and 11″ wide) – uses another, you guessed it, IKEA fabric from the Gunilla range in multicolour
and the lining in, surprise, surprise, IKEA Gunilla in Turquoise. Can you tell I like to use Ikea fabrics? I think their home dec stuff is such good value for money and sturdy enough for me not to use any interfacing at all (well for this project anyway).
For an easy and quick (but yet pretty) gift to sew up, you should try these bags. You would probably want to keep a few for yourself. I’m keeping the little one to store my knitting stuff while I knit in the car (I tend to knit small projects).
a free PDF knitting pattern from Cotton & Cloud.
I found this pattern by accident when I was blog surfing for nothing specifically and somehow it caught my eye. Now I’m not sure if it’s because the scarf was knitted up in red wool or the pattern looked interesting enough to not bore me while knitting. But whatever it was, I wanted to knit it up straight away.
The pattern was aimed at the beginner knitter and after a few false starts (never knitted from a chart before) and clarifying a few details with Kyoko (who owns Cotton and Cloud), I was on my merry way to knitting up this scarf. I actually learnt a few things from this project. Firstly, how to read a knitting chart!!!!! Secondly, how to crochet cast on (Kyoko shows you how to do this on the pattern), I think this has to be my favourite method of casting on so far. Thirdly, how to cable without a cable needle (as a beginner, I just couldn’t imagine handling another needle, so I found a tutorial on Right-Twist and Left-Twist Cable) and lastly, how to knit these bobbles, mine aren’t as round and cute as Kyoko’s, it’s more elongated and wormy like (again Kyoko shows you on the pattern on achieving the perfect bobble).
So what do you think? It’ll be gifted.