Yay!

I'm feeling quite "Yay!" and here's a few reasons why...
1. It's Friday. 2. I finally managed to get a shot of Kyan in his hoodie from lovely Kristin, of squidgy widgy woo .Kristin and I did a swap a wee while ago now. The hoodie is fabulous quality, and adorably gorgeous. I think I want another one... (by the way-look at K walking-another Yay!)

Yay for having a fabulous book to read. If you haven't read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, then please do. I am in the process and I find myself snatching any moment possible-even just two minutes-to read a page because it's so beautiful.

Second to last yay; I AM GOING TO FINISH a commission project that is starting to drag a little. That's it. I've said it now and I will blog about it tomorrow. I don't care if it takes me all night. I WILL DO IT.

Final yay for the day; Jason Mraz. I bought the CD "We sing, we dance, we steal things" on Thursday and have listened to it continuously ever since. Genius. The song "A Beautiful Mess" actually made me cry, and that hasn't happened since Hollie Smith. Ok... just one more link xx

Thanks Nana xx

A while ago, I shared some beautiful embroidery, stitched by my Grandmother-in-Law. She was absolutely amazing at crochet, knitting, sewing, embroidery... in fact I think she probably gave every type of handcraft a try in her 80 odd years. She liked that I am a bit crafty myself, and gave me boxes and boxes of craft books, embroidery silks, wools and fabrics. She died in October 2008, just 11 days after her husband. My house holds many treasures given and created by her. This book is my favourite.
I love the owl on the front and the back covers...

Wise and true words!

Every fathomable creature is covered, from insects...

All manner of birds...

Farm animals... I LOVE this goat illustration.

Fish...

And I know it's not "P.C", but I had to give the Gollywog a look in as well...

More insects. Seriously, I just want to frame the illustrations and put them on the wall!

"ladies, some vermillion felt and American cloth for this one..."

Well, I'm off to make a stag beetle now. Or maybe a goat. A kingfisher?

The end.

Book Tag

I've been busy. Busy, busy busy trying to get organised for the market I was talking about here
and I needed a break! So the invitation from Janelle to play a game of book tag was most welcome! This is how it works; Go to the closest book you have, not necessarily the book you have just read, or your favorite, but the closest. Turn to page 56 and copy out the 5th line, followed by the next 2 to 5 lines.

Well, my closest book was Tricia Guilds' 'Painted Country'. It was on the table because Isla was reading it while I sewed (bless her, her current reading material of choice is mainly Hairy McClary, her Dads' Fishing World magazine, or my interior design books, go figure).

Ok... Page 56...Rats, it's only a picture with no words (Murphys' Law!) So I'll have to do page 54. The 5th line onwards reads "this kitchen conveys all of that colour, energy, spontaneity and adventure, along with a certain reassuring familiarity on the use of the tiles, wood and stone. Although recently built and containing every modern convenience and labour-saving appliance hidden behind old farm gate fronts, it has the comfortable air of an old and settled place."

Sounds rather nice, doesn't it? My kitchen, by contrast has all the charms of an old and settled place, but none of the modern conveniences and labour saving devices! Maybe Santa would like to bring me a dishwasher... And an espresso machine?

I will invite some fellow bloggers to play too;

Sally-Anne, from Quite a Handful

Megan, from Pink Flower Buttons

and Louise, from Twenty Cent Mixture

Zakka Sewing

Yeeeay! Thank you Fishpond! This fabulous book is now part of my collection!


The squirrel tea cosy, made from felt. So simple yet so stylish. Love love love it.

Embroidered house shoes for grown ups.

Hot Air Balloon purses. I think these are my favourite project from the book.

Bunny pencil case. See a free pattern and tutorial for this here

Flower shaped felt coasters.

What to make first?

Omiage Inspiration

I want to share what is, for my crafting, the single most inspiring book I have ever read (brace yourself for a bit of a plug, it's worth it),

Omiage is the Japanese art of fabric folding, sister to the paper folding art of Origami. It also refers to the Japanese traditions of gift giving. The book is by Kumiko Sudo, and it contains 43 original design projects for everything from little dolls, flower shaped purses and pouches, incense holders, pincushions and little animals. Each one is absolutely gorgeous. The photography is beautiful, the colours are rich, the fabric combinations are genius and the projects are great for using up your smaller bits of fabric. The directions are simple and easy to follow, even for people like me who are allergic to direction-following!

"Enter the world of things tiny but delightful. I find that it is the most intricate of details that the artistry of Japanese craftsmanship is most evident. No matter how small, a gift made from fabric is the most intimate I can give. It is made with the hands, but the good wishes it carries come only from the heart."

Kumiko Sudo

And as if that wasn't fabulous enough, this little gem is winging it's way to me as we speak, and I have a feeling it might be similarly inspiring. I'll be sure to let you know.

A Special Heirloom

I wanted to share this beautiful embroidery, given to me recently by my Mother-in-Law. It is a tray cover and set of four doilies, stitched by my Grandmother-in-Law. To me, things like this are precious because they come from the hand of a family member, and have the rare quality of being irreplaceable. I have put two of the doilies on my dressing table and two on my Islas'. I hope that in time she will treasure them the same way that I do.

I am so inspired by this type of handcrafted item, and have read from cover to cover Thrift to Fantasy by Rosemary Mcleod. Ms Mcleod is a woman after my own heart, paying homage to the handcrafts of the 1930s-50s and acknowledging them as the art form they are.

So many times I have been in an op shop or at a garage sale and seen pieces of exquisite embroidery cheaply priced and crumpled in a dusty corner at the back. I pick these things up and often marvel at the work and skill that has gone into them. I try to rescue them all! However, one does not have much need for a tray cloth these days, and these items are often damaged/stained with age. this is why the work of tiny happy also inspires me so much. by taking these items and upcycling them into practical things that put their beauty on display instead of at the back of a dark cupboard... another woman after my own heart!