Aprons, Blankies and Pouches

I had a busy day today stitching up a storm (and making bias tape for everything I can think of!)


Last week I won another giveaway on Joanne's blog. I'm starting to feel a bit guilty because I've won three giveaways in the space of about 6 weeks.

Anyhow, Joanne wasn't having a great birthday so I decided to send her a pressie.

I made her this reversible apron (with bias tape on the edges)......


....and packaged it up and popped it in the post. Happy Birthday Joanne, hope you like it!

It's my brother in laws birthday tomorrow so my sister ordered this belt buckle for him from Randitan. The belt buckle is made from old car licence plates. Randi makes heaps of other cool things including funky earrings and pendants. I sewed up a little blue pouch to pack it in.

Then I finally made a moo moo blankie for my nephew Moo Moo (also with bias tape).

Latest report from Mr CurlyPops is that he has bought me some .........fabric! I can't wait to see what he has picked........and bring on April 1st so my internet connection resets!

The Beast

Angus and Julia Stone have a new video clip - check it out - great Aussie talent.

Mr CurlyPops goes to Hong Kong

Here are some more MMS photos from Hong Kong. I requested photos of anything crafty or kitschy that he saw on his travels and this is what I got.

This is tonights rugby final.

This is........the contents of my handbag

I tend to swap handbags a lot depending on where I'm off to and what I need to fit into them.
At the moment, it's just the essentials.....purse, mobile phone, keys, lip balm, smencil, money, old receipts that I haven't cleaned out, zipper pouch (full of tissues) from Crafty Bits and Bobs, babushkas pencil case (perfect size for my MP3 player) from Mikes, and my handbag made by me using Jodies fab tutorial.

To see who else is playing along, go check out Angela's blog and thanks to Sharon from Iris & Lily for this weeks very revealing suggestion!

Update: I decided to check all my receipts before I threw them in the bin. They tell the story of where I've been in the last week.......Mikes, multiple Op Shops, Spotlight, Australia Post, and the supermarket!

Girls Day Out (well, morning out) - Updated

My sister and I decided to go on a little drive away from the 'burbs' thismorning and into the city. We left the Melways behind and took one of Mr CurlyPops's favourite gadgets 'Lola' (aka the Navman). We had a slight problem when Lola wouldn't give us directions becuase she kept switching herself off! It seems that I may have inadvertantly jammed her powercord in the concole of my car, so unless we held the power cord at a certain angle, she wouldn't stay switched on........in the end, we pulled over and got her to finally work!



My sister ran out of Peter Watson tomato sauce yesterday, so the first stop on the intinerary was the Peter Watson shop in South Melbourne (Update - thanks Pip - there's another store in St David St, Fitzroy) . It was only 11.00 but they had some lovely grilled fish and sliced vegies for tastings and they were offering wine too. It was a bit early to get sloshed so we passed on that and just bought our sauce. I got some lovely tomato sauce and some worcestershire sauce too.

The next stop on the intinerary was Meet Me At Mikes. We got to meet lovely Cam and to see lovely Pip in the shop! We also got to see what some ugly horrible people decided to do last night.....

On a happier note, there were so many lovely things to see. If I had a limitless budget, I would have bought one of everything. What I did buy was:

A Heart for Mirabel made by Kitty (I'm not sure which Kitty, but if you're out there let me know and I'll add your link). Update: I've been doing some searching and I'm pretty sure my heart was made by Kitty from Kitty's Kaboodle.

I managed to snap up the wonderful babushkas pencil case handmade by Mikes.....

...and I also bought this gorgeous notepad by Kristen Doran....

....and to make it even better, I picked up my fabulous soupy prize of vintage fat quarters!

This is a close-up shot of my favourite. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to make yet but I can use my cool new notebook to start making some lists and drawing some pictures.



The best thing about Mikes was being able to check out all of the cool stuff that all the crafters and bloggers make. It was great to be able to pick things up and see them in the flesh after seeing photos on all the blogs.



There was one little downside.....I'm feeling very depressed because my hearts are still hanging in the window. If anyone is reading this, can you please please please shell out $10 for charity and buy one that I made before it's all over.

It was raining when we left Mikes so we got in the car and headed down Gertrude St in search of coffee. We found a nice warm cosy coffee shop and had a cappucino and a lemon slice (it was delicious) and then headed into a secondhand bookstore called 'The Searchers' which was in Smith St. I got 6 novels for $22 which was a bargain.

The next stop on our itinerary was supposed to be the Rose St Artists Market but my dad called to let us know that he was on the way for a visit from Ballarat. So we had to pack up and head back to the 'burbs'.

In other news, Mr CurlyPops made it to Hong Kong overnight and has been sending through MMS messages. Above photo: Roadworks.........Why?.......I have no idea......

Next photo.....trying to find the train station to get to the rugby stadium.

I guess he found it!

Giddy Up!

I've tested out my new bias tape makers and they are fab!

It's so much easier than making the tape manually just with the iron. So I managed to finish two Giddy Up blankies for the twins and I finished the spotty blankie that I started earlier in the week.

I couldn't wait to use the fabrics from Retromummy, and luckily I had a few spare t-shirts lying around so I quickly added some Jack and the Beanstalk and some Funky Monkeys to the fronts.

I also had a scrappy bit of skull & crossbone leftover for this one.

These three are going to my nephew Moo Moo (it's ok, that's just his nickname - his parents aren't crazy folk).

Mr CurlyPops has just left the building. He's off to Hong Kong for the weekend to watch a rugby tournament (and buy me lots of presents). In his absence, I'm hoping to get lots of crafty things done, and I'm planning to drop in to Meet Me At Mikes tomorrow so I can snap up a Mirabel Heart before it's too late.

Anyhoo, have a lovely crafty weekend!

More lovely mail!

Look what the postie delivered today! Some gorgeous fabric that I ordered from Corrie at Retromummy. She's having a sale until Sunday so get in while you can.

I'm going to use the blue Jack & the Beanstalk fabric to make something for my twin nephews who are on the way (maybe some small snuggle blankies). I think I might applique the monkeys onto some t-shirts or use some as a feature panel on some bibs.

The polkadots are all for me me me! Just have to decide what I want to make for me me me!

Also in todays mail were the Clover Bias Tape Makers that I ordered from Clegs on Monday.

Now I can start on the flannel wraps using this huge stash of fabric!

I wonder if the Postie is sick of delivering parcels yet???

Tagged

1. I've been tagged by the lovely Christine from Chocolate and Steel.
   
   Here are the rules:
   
   1. Link to the person that tagged you.
   
   2. Post the rules on your blog.
   
   3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
   
   4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
   
   5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
   
   

1. I don't like silence while I'm awake. I always either have the tv on, or music playing in the background.
2. I have a weird knack for remembering number sequences. I'm the walking telephone book of my household. Same rule applies for bank account numbers, pin numbers etc but I'm terrible at remembering names. It would be much easier if I was male so I could just call everyone 'mate'.
3. I always buy too much of certain things. I always have multiple packets of toilet paper and toothpaste in the cupboard just to make sure that we don't run out.
4. My favourite cordial is Cottees Apple and Raspberry flavour.
5. I like washing dishes. I hate putting them away.
6. I have much more fun searching for second-hand bargains than buying things new.

I'm going to tag some great blogs that I've just recently found:

Big Cat's Emporium
August Street
Joychell
Skye Rocket Sews
Samaprilmay
Leni & Rose

Play along if you like!

Thrifted Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday's adventures took me to Footscray so I stopped off at the Brotherhood of St Laurence on Geelong Rd, Kingsville.
They didn't have any craft supplies but they did have a great book section and all books were only $1 each. I also bought 2 pairs of jeans (all jeans are $4 a pair) but they're already in the washing machine and I forgot to take a photo first. I didn't try them on, but at $4 a pair, if they don't fit, then I'll just chop them up and make them into something else!


Today's little adventure took me to Sunshine so I stopped off at The Salvos in Deer Park.

I found this big bag of buttons....it was marked $15 but they gave it to me for $8.75. They're a bit grubby so I'm going to wash them tonight and see if I find any gems. It's a bit like fossicking for gold!

As I was searching through the clothes, I noticed a lot of items that had originally had Suzanne Grae tags but they'd been cut off. I picked out a few that I wanted to buy.

This brown three quarter sleeve shirt for $6.75.....

This dress for $10.25....I think it's purple satin underneath and then it has a black lace overlay....

......and this red t-shirt for $4.75.

I asked the lady at the counter about them and they are all new items that have been donated by Suzanne Grae. Each one has a flaw, but they are all brand new. The brown shirt has some loose stitiching which I can fix with a needle and thread, the dress needs a new zip (I can't do this but my mother-in-law can do it for me), and the red shirt is missing a decorative button at the front which I can also fix myself. There are lots of tops to choose from but you have to check for faults and also for sizing as they've removed the sizes when they've cut the tags off!

I also found this pretty little skirt which is way too small for me but I think the fabric will make a nice handbag.