WIP Week - Update 1

Hmm, not too much progress on the WIP's. Have been a) slack and b) out for work function last night (and considering I did not get home until 11.45pm, there was NOT a lot of crafting done...).

Some more inches on the scarf (Project # 3).

Aaaaaannnnddd, that's about it really...

But I did ring and speak to my Mum. So I think I deserve props for that ; )

10 on Tuesday (on Wednesday)

Well, I've 'subscribed' to 10 on Tuesday from www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday.

Altho a day late, here are my 10 Words People Would Use to Describe Me (or at least the 10 words I think they would use to describe me!!)

1. Creative;
2. Laughter;
3. Friend;
4. Cooking;
5. Kind;
6. Trustworthy;
7. Reliable;
8. Organised;
9. Neat;
10. Triathlons!!!

Hmm, I hope that's what people think of me and not that I'm some loud-annoying-neatfreak-pedantic-whiny-a$$ed-little-b!tch who doesn't know when the hell to shut up. That - obviously - would be bad...

WIP Weekend (and more...)

Well, it's been a long weekend over here in WA, as we had a Public Holiday on Monday for ANZAC Day. Not sure why as I don't believe any of the other states had one *shrugs* but, not matter! Public Holidays - the Great Australian Institution.

So, I put the long weekend to good use to clear out a few WIP's. *sigh*

I really should finish one project before I start another from a completely different craft...


I managed to finish the mini quiltlet I was making from fabrics I received from the Amitie Textiles Blog VIP mailout. I absolutely loved the fabrics they sent me. They were so pretty and spring-like. I supplemented with a few fabrics from the stash and whipped this little fella up. Apologies for the lumpiness - it needs a good pressing to make it behave.

Is it just me, or do these little easter egg decorations look like multi-coloured sperm swimming along my kitchen table???

I also finished up a little felt owl applique that I cut out months ago. Once I finished sewing the pieces together I was a bit stuck as to what to actually do with it...pop it on a hand made bag? Make it into a brooch? I pondered and pondered until I was cleaning the side of my fridge, and there were all these 'free' magnets that you get in the mail or from the mechanics etc. I don't use them because they're unattractive and I have cute magnets that I would much rather look at. Suddenly, I had a lightbulb moment and with the held of a little PVA glue, et voila! An owl magnet :) Yay!!

So, in the spirit of the WIP Weekend that I have just enjoyed, I thought I would put in a BIG EFFORT and have a WIP WEEK, where I work on nothing but WIP's. That should clear some of them out, and leave room for the list of new projects that I am already compiling...

To start off the WIP WEEK, here is a list (in no particular order) of all the projects I currently have outstanding:

Project 1 - A Thimbleberries BOM quilt. I've had most of the top completed for some time. I just have to add the second border. And buy the backing fabric. And quilt it;

Project 2 - Bento Box Quilt. Again, I've had the top pieced for some time and partly quilted. I have had to unpick some of the quilting as I have this terrible quilting disability where I fail to keep the backing fabric taut enough and it gets all caught up and folded over and unfortunate. So, I finished the quilting of the main pieced section on the weekend, and now I just have to decide how to quilt the borders and add in some hand quilting and then I'm done;

Project 3 - As previously mentioned, I'm knitting a scarf for a friend. As a rule a scarf should be as long as the recipient is tall (apparently). Bec is about 6ft. Perhaps I should've started with a shorter friend...I'm about a foot and a half along at the moment;

Project 4 - My knitted afghan. This has been going on for approximately 12-months thus far. Basically, I got hold of a book that has 200 knitted blocks in it and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to knit up an afghan rug. I've finished all the single coloured blocks in the book and am now about a third of the way through the multi-coloured blocks. It takes me about an hour to two hours to make each block, but I can only make one per night due to the RSI I have in my right wrist;

Project 5 - Les Lapins cross stitch. Ummm, started this about 10 years ago on printed sail cloth (actually could be longer than 10 years...maybe 15???) Never really liked the idea of stitching onto fabrics that aren't Aida or Hardanger cloth, so it got folded up and put in the back of the cupboard whilst I went onto other stitching projects. Dragged it out just recently (read : was having a cleanout and found it hidden in the back of the drawer) and decided I would jsut get a bit of Aida cloth in the right count and whip it up;

Project 6 - Hardanger embroidery napkins. Started these last year for my (now) ex-boyfriends mother. Suffice to say as that relationship has ended I am no longer sending her gifts...Have done two napkins and might try and finish the others in time for me to send these off to my own mum for Mothers Day...;

Project 7 - A baby blanket I started about 5 years ago for a pregnant friend. Needless to say, her baby is now 4-ish and no longer in need of a blanket, but I am over half way through and can't really frog it back, so think I will finish the blanket and then give it to charity or the childrens hospital, or something.

Mad Photo Skillzzzzz :)

Heh.

Or something like that.

After the ANZAC Day Dawn Service was over, and I had walked the 4 kilmoetres back to where I parked my car (*sigh*), I was a bit peckish and so I thought I would head down into South Perth (which is kind of on my way home) and see if I could rustle up some breakfast.

It was a beautiful morning; I happened to have my camera in the pocket of my jacket (for those that are into these things its a teensy digi, a Canon IXUS 801S); the light was just perfect; et voila!! Some lovely pics of the Perth skyline.

It might be a small city, but it is scenic :)

It's lovely being right on the river, although I do agree with some that we need to enliven the river front space. Perhaps not to the extent of Melbourne (although it is lovely along the Yarra), but a bit more than the acres and acres and acres of grassed areas that are there at the moment. There is a riverside bike/foot path that encircles the foreshore (and continues on at both ends all the way to I don't even know where!) which is good to walk / run / cycle along and being so close to the CBD is convenient to my work. It means I can walk to work, or go for a run before work, or go out at lunch for a run, or after work for - you guessed it - a run!!!


The big win in Perth though is Kings Park. It's some ridiculous number of hectares of park and bushland located just on the western side of the CBD, and overlooks the city itself. They stage concerts and all sorts of good stuff up there. It has running and walking trails. There's the State War Memorial and other such things. There are avenues of memorial trees, botanic garden type stuff, parks and water features. Playgrounds and barbecues. But truly, the best part about it is the foresight that the people who originally established the city had when they decided to set aside this land for the people of Perth. Good work guys!!!

Down on the foreshore, we do have the (*cough*) Bell Tower...and the Perth Wheel thingy...and The Convention Centre...and, um, stuff...but, we could probably have some other better uses of this area. The current Lord Mayor has some big plans so I guess we'll see how that pans out!!!

Hope you enjoy the photos. I never did get the delicious breakfast I envisioned as APPARENTLY everyone else had the same idea, and the cafes were packed.... : ( Had to make do with a takeaway coffee and one of the most terrible danishes I've ever had the misfortune to eat. Bah!

But this cute little guy and his friend somewhat made up for that!!

Party Favour Tutorial

Still on the birthday theme (it was - after all - The Festival of Meeeeee!!!), I also whipped up some cute little party favours.

Again, really simple. A square of fabric (I think about 10 or 15cm square) trimmed with pinking shears. Some yo-yo's which I had made previously in a yo-yo-making frenzy, and some co-ordinating ribbon.

Contents were small wrapped Easter eggs, but you could use anything.

Construction was...

1. whip out the hot glue gun.



2. dab some hot glue on the back of the yo-yo's and attach each to a length of ribbon. I used a length of ribbon about the length of my forearm, but it will really depend on how big a bow you want, how long you want the tails to be and how much fabric it needs to get around.



3. wait until these dry. Shouldn't take too long.



4. Lay your fabric squares out and place the goodies in the centre.



5. Gather up the four corners of the fabric to make a little pouch.



6. Place the beribboned yo-yo's around the top of the pouch and wrap ribbon around a couple of times.



7. Tie ribbon behind the yo-yo's with a little bow.



8. Finished!!!

Lest We Forget

I got up extra early today to make my way up to Kings Park here in Perth to observe the ANZAC Day dawn service.

It's the most beautiful setting with the State War Memorial standing silhouetted against the scarp with the sun rising over it, washing the memorial in that lovely pinkish-goldish dawn light, with the lights of Perth city shining behind it. The memorial is constructed so that as the sun rises, it shines into the memorial crypt below the monument, where the names of the lost are recorded. I'm not sure if that was the plan when they built it, but it's quite a lovely thought that those names are bathed in the early morning light every day. I didn't take a photo of the sunrise as I believe it's disrespectful to hear shutters clicking and see flashes going off at sombre occasions such as this.

Also, I think it's amazing how very, very quiet thousands of people can be when the moment requires it. You could almost hear a pin drop this morning when the wreathes were being laid.

The most lovely speech was given by one of the local Army Commanders - unfortunately I can't recall his name, but the words that he spoke really made me think (even more so than previous years) about the spirit of the ANZAC's and the effect that it had on our country at the time.

Thinking about ANZAC Day always makes me a little emotional. I'm not sure why - I didn't really have family that was directly impacted by WWI. WWII is a different matter - that did have an impact on both sides of my family for combatants and non-combatants (but that's another story). It was always a very serious thing for me, growing up as I did in town of Albany on the South Coast of WA. Albany being the place from which the first and second ANZAC troop convoys left from and also the location of the first ever dawn service. Perhaps this historical aspect is just ingrained in my subconscious.

The sound of the bugle playing the last post is almost always guaranteed to make me cry, and even now typing this up I still feel a bit teary. Heaven forbid someone should break out that song, I think it's called "I Was Only 19". They played a rap mash-up of that song on the radio this morning when I was driving in for the service, and although it was good, I simply had to change the station...

I think what sets me off is the thought of all those wasted lives and opportunities. How so many sacrificed the most important thing - their own lives - so that I and my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, possible future children can all live and enjoy the life that we have. How so many young men lied about their ages to go off and have what they thought was going to be a great adventure, but which turned out to be possibly the greatest horror they ever witnessed. How they must have felt knowing that they might never see their family again in far away Australia; that the guy next to them - very likely a good mate - might not survive the day; that they themselves might not see another sunrise...

And the sacrifice continued on after WWI and continues on today.

For that sacrifice, I thank all those brave men (and women) who lost their own most precious lives and those that are risking their lives now so that we can live a free and wonderful life.

I saw this wonderful, beautiful, poignant poem in our local WA Newspaper earlier this week. It was penned by Ken Bunker, and I think that it is just wonderful so I hope that he does not mind that I have reproduced it here.

A Tribute to ANZAC Day
With their hair a little whiter,

their step not quite so sure

Still they march on proudly

as they did the year before.

Theirs were the hands that saved us,

their courage showed the way

Their lives they laid down for us,

that we may live today.

From Gallipoli’s rugged hillsides,

to the sands of Alamein

On rolling seas and in the skies,

those memories will remain.

Of airmen and the sailors,
of Lone Pine and Suvla Bay
The boys of the Dardenelles
are remembered on this day.

They fought their way through jungles,
their blood soaked desert sands
They still remember comrades
who rest in foreign lands.

They remember the siege of old Tobruk,
the mud of the Kokoda Trail
Some paying the supreme sacrifice
with courage that did not fail.

To the icy land of Korea,
the steamy jungles of Vietnam
And the heroic battle of Kapyong
and that epic victory at Long Tan.

Fathers, sons and brothers,
together they fought and died
That we may live in peace together,
while at home their mothers cried.

When that final bugle calls them
to cross that great divide
Those comrades will be waiting
when they reach the other side.

LEST WE FORGET.

Place Card tutorial

Wow...three posts in as many days : ) You lucky, lucky things.

This is a really easy tutorial for placecards for a Special Occasion.

I made these for my recent birthday, which was on Easter Saturday, hence the proliferation of bunnies.

Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the individual steps, but these really are so simple.

Step 1 - Choose your theme and colours. Because it was MY freakin' birthday, I matched the colours with the dress I was wearing.

Step 2 - Choose your images. I used rubber stamps that I had, stamped and embossed them then coloured with watercolour pencils, but you could just as easily use pre-printed logos or pics or whatever, or print some clip art up. They will need to be on slightly thicker paper so that they stand up.

Step 3 - Decide how wide you want your placecards to be. In my case, this was governed by how I wanted the names to be on the cards. You could simply hand write the names, or use printed labels, but I used small alphabet stamps to stamp the names which I then cut around, so my width was determined by the longest name I stamped. Obviously, if you have a longer image then this may also determine how wide the cards should be.

Step 4 - Decide how tall you want your placecards to sit. This will be governed by the size of your images. If your images are tall then the height of your placecards will have to be sufficient to support them. As an example, my cards were 9cm wide across the front and about 5 cm deep, giving them a height when folded of about 2.5cm.

Step 5 - Cut around your chosen images, leaving a tab section along the bottoms of the images. LEAVING THE TAB SECTION IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! The tab should extend about 1cm below the bottom of the image. I cut just around the outside of the borders of the image, but you could cut in a square or circle etc, etc. Put the images to one side.

Step 6 - Fold the place cards in half along the short side, but then flatten out again.

Step 7 - Measure how long the tab on the bottom of your image is and then using a ruler and a craft knife cut a slit in the bottom half of the placecard. This will be where the tab of the image will go.

Step 8 - Stick a small piece of double sided tape on the back of the placecard underneath the slit you have just cut. This will secure the tab when it is poked through. I guess you could also use glue, but I prefer tape as it wont distort the card and it's easy to snip off the required length.

Step 9 - Assemble the placecards by tucking the tab through the slits and securing with the adhesive tape. It's easiest to do the cards one at a time as otherwise the tape could stick to everything else!!

Step 10 - Attach stamped or printed names or hand write names onto the place cards.

Step 11 - Refold the placecards in half and you should have an image which extends above the fold of the card and you are done!!

See...told you it was easy : )

Promised Photo Updates

Ooooh! Birthday schwag : ) a book from my Aunt and Uncle along with a bookmark and set of placemats (at the back) from my Nanna. Mirrored box with sweet smelly thingies inside from the lovely Clare; My Little Pony from my little brother (it's a long story!) and new charms for my Pandora bracelet from the parentals and also my friend, Em. And finally a VERY humourous flipbook called, "Give The Bitch Her Chocolate". Hilarious combination of 50's style images and just the kind of irreverent humour I enjoy - thanx Bree!! There were also Ferrero Rocher chocolates and one of those room scenting reed diffuser thingies, which I received after I had taken this photo. Like I said - spoilt ; )

FABULOUS handbag from friend and roomie, Bec (and Clint!). Love the colour and perfect for the coming winter...now just to find a pair of shoes to complement...


The My Little Pony from my little bro. I always wanted a MLP when I was a little girl, but my mum is a big believer in 'educational' toys. *sigh*. And because - to her mind - there was nothing that you could do with a MLP, I never got one despite what I am sure was neverending pressure and whining from me. So, the last time I saw my brother, we were talking about this...and then, voila!! My very own MLP : ) Bless!

Beautiful handmade bookmark - I think batik material. You can't see it here, but there are thin black feathers attached to the top of it. It's almost too pretty to use as I worry that the feathers will get broken...And my Pandora bracelet. The three new charms are hard to see but a tiny alarm clock and gift wrapped present from my folks and a purple enamelled triangle flower thingy from Ems.

And this would be my new scarf when it was still a WIP. The pattern is out of the most recent edition of Creative Knitting - I think it was called a short row scarf. I used a different yarn to that recommended and I am very pleased with the result. The yarn was a bamboo and acrylic mix in a colorway called "Pink Ginger". In fact, so pleased with it that I wore it all day today because it was so cold in Perth. All I have to do is block it properly as the edges have curled up...not sure if this is due to the pattern, or just my tight knitting tension.

Whatever Wednesdays

Oh.

My poor, poor, horribly neglected blog...

Any excuse I offer would be just that...an excuse.

A quick rundown of what's been happening since the last time I visited (gulp)

1. Have completed three further triathlons, and two fun runs (although the term 'fun run' always seems a little of an oxymoron to me...);
2. Another Brown Owls meeting :) this time at Baby Goose in Inglewood. Small group but good. I brought along my knitting and whipped up a pair of baby ballet shoes for one of my pregnant friends;
3. Work work work (at my paying job). Very busy, but now my new boss has started - after being a one woman band for a period of nearly FOUR MONTHS - so should settle down;
4. The guy that I was sort-of-casually-seeing-dating-kind-of turned out to be a schmuck and a bit of a loser. Oh well. Worse things happen at sea!!
5. My birthday happened!! I will not divulge the total number of years, suffice to say that I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth :) I was roundly spoilt I must say. My birthday occurred on Easter Saturday so I got a long weekend as a gift! Yay! I celebrated with morning tea with my aunt and uncle (bearing gifts from the parentals) on Good Friday. Hot Cross Buns, homemade orange almond cake and chocolate cups. Breakfast on the day with my good friend and housemate Bec. High Tea at the Hyatt with the girls followed by cocktails at the Hula Bula Bar! Yippee and thanx to all who attended and made it fun (and although it's unlikely that the person mentioned in point #4 is reading this blog, your decision to come along to my birthday and then proceed to try and pick up other women at the bar? Just wanted to let you know that despite your best intentions it did not ruin my night, merely opened my (and my friends eyes) to what a dog you are :) now instead of just me thinking you are a clown, there are about 10 other people who think it too!) Got lovely gifts which will post photos of later :)
6. Finished two knitted beanies now that I've worked out how to knit in the round. Frogged both of them as the first one was too big (and I wanted to use the yarn in a scarf instead) and the other one didn't turn out quite as I had hoped...
7. Finished a lovely scarf using some bamboo / acrylic mix yarn. So pretty with photos to follow;
8. Started a ruffle scarf for BFF/Roomie Bec in a white acrylic mohair. Pretty so far and I hope she'll enjoy it;
9. Started a mini quilt with some fabric I got in the Amitie Blog VIP mailout. Perfectly pretty. Again with the promise of photos to come...
10. Finally...despite my recent dating (almost) failure (hey, I don't think I'm the one with issues here!!!) have agreed to be kinda-sorta set-up with a friend of a friend. *sigh* but NOT a blind date, just a low-key group get together type thing...like I said to the friend with the friend, what's the worst thing that can happen? I make a new friend!!!

Hmm, I'm sure that there is more that has gone one in the last (ulp!!) almost six weeks, but these are the highlights!

Rest assured that my recent 'romantic disappointments' have not dissuaded me! The events have been meticulously dissected by innumerable female friends and one very wise friend of a male nature, and we have unanimously shook our heads at Fellow from Point # 4's antics.

He, he...onward and upward! So many men...so little time (as they saY) BWAHAhahahahaaaa :D

More posts to come over the next few days. Promise.

Ciaou bellas xx