Africanaussie

I have mentioned before that once a month I have a group of friends get together and we do some sort of craft and share a cup of tea.  I do love these get togethers and so far it has mostly been me sharing some sort of craft.  We have done t shirt necklaces, crocheting granny squares, crocheting net bags, and sometimes we just bring along whatever we are working on at the moment. Last Saturday we made rag quilt bags.  You might remember me making a memory quilt for my daughter  here  that I will be taking to her in September. the weekend before I made up two different types of bags - it is so much easier to do them if you have one in front of you.   My rotary cutter decided that it had done its time, and there was no replacement in town, so I was beginning to get a little worried.  On a whim I asked my neighbour, who luckily had  a spare that she had picked up at an op shop ages back.  I was all set, I had a bunch of spare fabric, ...

As you know in 2016 when I went over to America I took a busy book for my grandson.  Here it is. Now he is turning four and that busy book has been busy being played with by both him and his little sister.   My daughter insisted that they both need a new busy book when I go over in May! He loves ducks - he has a favourite to sleep with, a favourite to carry around all day, and then hundreds of other options,   even so one of his pages is the mother duck and five little ducks that go out to play. (they slide under the fabric on either side)   I rather like the way the little ducks and their mom turned out - I adapted it from a paper pattern.  Then he has a pizza with different amounts of pepperoni so he can learn to count.  They are attached so that they cannot get lost (also to make it a little easier for him, but dont tell his Mom that!  I coudnt resist making this monster that you feed with pom poms (or anything really!) ...

I received an unexpected package in the mail this week.  A pyramid nativity!  It turns!  It comes with love from my daughter who is living in Germany at the moment!  She knows I love nativities, and this is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The theory is that in a small, cold  draught free room the heat will rise and send the windmill spinning, which in turn will rotate both of the platforms.  At first it wouldn't work - firstly it is hot here, secondly we have the fans going, and at times the aircon, and it is in the middle of an open plan kitchen living area. My dear sweet patient, persistent hubby has made a plan.  I hope you can see this little video. It is now a tropical Nativity pyramid!  With the fan on it goes around like crazy - probably too fast, but once the fan was adjusted it settled down to a nice easy rhythm.   Down the bottom are Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the Three Kings.  On the Top level is a shepherd w...

I made some progress on my heirloom quilt this weekend.   As I have been sewing this I have been remembering my Aunty Ellen who taught me to chrochet and to tatt.   There is a linen hankerchief with tatted edges in one of the squares.  I remembered my Gran, and her sister Ester who wore these lacy collars on their evening dresses.  I dont know if they made the lace or bought it, but I do remember how they were both always so well dressed.  When I was little I used to look at the photo of them sitting out in the garden brushing ther long shiny hair in the sun.    Because of that photo I would often catch rainwater to wash my hair in in the hopes that my hair would also grow down to my waist.  Alas it never did.  When my machine gave me trouble winding the bobbin I remembered the brother sewing machine that I first sewed on.  I began sewing my own clothes at about 12, and my mom gave me a clothing allowance to buy fabric and pattern...

I have a very small garden, but do love  to incorporate permaculture principles whever I can. I really enjoyed this video of a couple in Jacksonville where I used to live. Permaculture Garden It reminded me of how much I like to chop and drop. I tend to do that in the flower gardens, but not so much in the veggie garden.  I really dont want to be buying mulch, I would prefer to be making my own, and that is precisely what chop and drop does.  I grow lemongrass which is an amazing plant for that, and besides which it smells lovely.  I also think it might keep pests away, but that could just be wishful thinking. recently on the down to earth forum I took part in a christmas gift exchange and received some lovely scrapbook type ornaments - unlike any ornaments I have.  That is the nice thing about doing a swap - the surprise factor..  Sorry the photo is a little fuzzy.  My swap partner read my blog, discovered I am a gardener, and also sent me a c...

I saw an awesome giveaway that I just had to share  here  at Time to Stitch.  I certainly dont think I have the patience that  a lot of those projects need, one caught my eye though - a series of differnt christmas trees, hanging  from a wire stand.  I once saw a display at the Smithsonian of christmas trees, decorated with the artwork of different countries. Awesome!  As we travelled on our boat, at Christmas time I would make home made ornaments   Some years it was origami, some years felt, some years crocheted snowflakes.... So back old lace and old samplers.... I have been working on a project with old lace and old embroidered garments from our family, that my Mom had collected over the years. Here is a sneak preview: and some detail... This is a sampler I found among them.  Isnt it awesome?  Doesnt it just make you wonder if it was a tedious project when she really just wanted to read, or play outside?  Maybe sh...

My bali bag is done!  In the end the final sewing didn't take that long, and I am really pleased with it .  I made it smaller than suggested as I wanted it more as a handbag than a tote bag.  I used it all weekend and the bright colors made me feel happy.   I might find it more useful with a lining with pockets, but I liked the idea that you could see the colors inside and out.  I have plans for more, and next time I will take photos and do a tutorial.  This time I felt I was still feeling my way (see the wonky bit around the bottom... oops). 

A couple of months ago, while we were having a little holiday down in Brisbane, my very good friend gave me a kit to make a bali bag.  I never seem to have the time to sit down and sew, but Monday was a holiday and  I decided not to put it off any longer. The kit has such gorgeous fabric that I thought I would try the technique out first with some scrap fabric from my stash.   Look at the little basket I made :)  First of all you cut long strips, sew them together and then fold them over cotton washing line, sewing into a long strip of cotton covered rope.  Then you begin to coil and sew with a large zig zag stitch.  I still need to work on my tension -my cheap little sewing machine was quite stressed.  Hubby made the suggestion that a nice new sewing machine might be on the list for a future birthday present :)   I mentioned that Spotlight have Brother sewing machines on half price specials at time to time ;)  I learnt to sew at 10 on m...

Catherine from  Knotted Cotton  has this lovely snail badge on her blog, and I couldn't resist partaking and I think rather than slow,  I am a bit of an erratic blogger, but I do like the idea of just blogging when I have something to say - certainly not on any type of schedule.  I clicked on a  couple of links when looking at this slow blogger idea and came across a lovely little design on a mini quilt.  I have a project I want to start working on, and need to try a few stitches and ideas, so this little cushion sounded like the perfect place to start.  I wish I could find the original design so that I could give credit where it is due. I am not a perfectionist, and will go to great lengths so that I don't have to unpick anything, so excuse the imperfection. I also took part in a  craft swap and I sent a bag like this al...