little circa

A bit of playful experimentation in my creative space today. Some girly pink tops (bought), with some girly pink "circa's" printed on to them for my nieces ...

Sometimes it's nice to do things just for fun, and just to see if you can (this is the first bit of clothing that I've screen printed). To print these, I taped off four squares from my circa tea towel screen and used the thing-a-ma-jig I made for printing bags. A pretty, simple gift. More creativity at Kootoyoo's place. Have a lovely Thursday!

what i'm reading at the moment ...

Driving over Lemons ... written by a witty Englishman who buys a (very) peasant farm in the south of Spain. Loving the stories of rural life, subsistence living and learning on the hop - very amusing and worth a read!

selvedge magazine ... the latest copy of my favourite textiles magazine arrived in the post yesterday. I haven't devoured it all yet, but the article on vintage clothes pegs was wonderful (and obtuse!).

The World ... trying to teach Mr 4 about distance, countries and the world. It's been ages since I've looked at a map like this (or an atlas for that matter), so it's been fun finding "new" and unfamiliar countries.

What are you reading? Hope your Wednesday is shaping up just how you like it!

bits'n'pieces

I've been playing with my new camera ... I finally got myself a digital SLR, and I'm really enjoying learning to use an SLR again ...

It took me a while to decide, but I eventually chose a Pentax K-r. As my old manual SLR was a Pentax, the lenses, filters and accessories I had could be used on a Pentax digital camera, so in the end I only needed to buy the camera body. I'm very happy with it, and stoked to have another Pentax - this will be my third.

I also managed to get productive last night and package up some more bits'n'pieces fabric packs - these just seem disappear from the shop, so get in quick if you'd like one.

Have a great Tuesday!

RED retro canisters

For something a bit different, I printed my (normally multi-coloured) retro spice canisters in red last week. I really like the look, and it totally satisfies my red obsession. There is one hanging in my kitchen already!

These tea towels are now available in the Yardage Design online shop, and will also be available to buy from Little Shop of Handmade in Carnegie from later today (when I drop them off!).

Incase you didn't know, the Finders Keepers Market is on in Melbourne this weekend. Yardage Design won't be there as a stall holder this time, but I will be popping in on Sunday for a bit of handmade shopping therapy. Maybe I'll see you there?

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Thanks so much for the kind words about my quilt yesterday - I was chuffed to say the least!

Blue Liberty Quilt = complete!

A marathon 5 hours of sewing and hand sewing saw the completion of my first "proper" quilt yesterday afternoon. I'm really happy with the result ...

I even managed to not muck up the binding, by learning how to do mitred corners properly via this tutorial, and then hand sewing the binding on the back.

The quilt top is made from a range of Liberty prints in blue and violet, the back is navy circa on natural linen/cotton by me (I love the combo), and the binding is Liberty. The batting is natural cotton. The finished size is 135cm x 135cm.

I really enjoyed making this quilt. It is something I will keep and enjoy for many years to come. I think I'm a little bit addicted to quilting now, but what a lovely way to spend time. I can thoroughly recommend it!

Incase you need a laugh ... this is me ... trying to be as tricky as Kirsty and Kate, but failing miserably with my point and shoot camera, self timer and dodgy tripod! This is how it's really done.

For more creative spaces, quilts and all things clever, visit Kootoyoo.

practicing ...

Getting ready to quilt the blue Liberty quilt, so I thought I should have a little practice on some scraps of my navy circa fabric that I'm using for the backing ...

The "sandwich" has been pinned and is ready to be quilted. Maybe tonight or tomorrow - looking forward to it!

Have a great Tuesday!

at my house ...

Today at my house I'm ...

- packing and posting orders. One of my favourite things to do - I love wrapping things up and making them look nice!
- cutting and colouring with Mr 4 - we've been making "tickets" for playing all manner of games and entry to imaginary places.
- deciding if I should make lasagne or tuna bake for dinner.
- taking Mr 4 to sport - today was cricket. He loves cricket and is quite good at it too. He's finally worked out that he's a lefty, after being ambidextrous until now.
- washing - yuck. I do not find housework appealing in any way, but I do like the results (and clean clothes).
- donating lots of $5 to the Red Cross for the Japan Quake Appeal so I can enter Jodie's awesome custom softie giveaway (seriously, check this out - a Ric-Rac softie of your choice!)
- playing transformers with Mr 4.
- deciding what fabric to back my blue Liberty quilt with - procrastinating a bit on that one.
- looking forward to Finders Keepers this weekend in Melbourne.
- jotting down ideas - I have some new designs in the pipeline. I just need the time to refine them and get them done.
- reading blogs in between!

I hope your week has started off well!

you owe it to your home ...

According to the May 1934 edition of Home Chat magazine I picked up from Camberwell Market this morning, we owe it to our home to "give it a thorough turn-out from attic to cellar once a year".  Of course we do!!

I also found a great book called "Weldon's Encyclopaedia of Needlework" which includes everything from tatting to dressmaking.

I took my camera to the market this morning, and snapped a few pics as I wandered around, for those that have never been. Camberwell Market is run by Rotary and is held every Sunday morning in the carpark behind Burke Road in Camberwell (more info here). It's a pretty big space and is always choc-a-block full of people selling "treasure". You know the saying - one persons trash is another persons treasure. The best stuff can be found early - before 8am - but if you're prepared to fossick, you will always find something you love before the market ends at 12.30pm. Vintage and retro are the main categories here, but you can pretty much find anything from furniture, to military antiques. The "button lady" is always on my list of places to stop - she has the most amazing collection of buttons, knitting needles, odd sewing stuff. I always stop and say hi to Bec from Little Shop too. Here are a few pics ...

The view of a small part of the market from the balcony at Target 

A treasure trove!

One of the prettiest stalls I saw today was by Flo & Olive (they have an etsy store too!)

The lovely Bec from Little Shop of Handmade has a stall selling her beautiful jewellery every Sunday (she's in the shadows crocheting while Mr Little Shop is on duty!)

I hope you're weekend is great so far. It's a glorious day here in Melbourne, so we're off to to the local school fete. To check out what other people have found this week from markets and op-shops, visit Her Library Adventures.

quilting ... almost!

Last week, I showed you my fabric selection for a Liberty Print quilt. My first serious, do it properly, big-girl, fancy-dancer quilt. I'm pleased to say that using my new best friends (Mr Cutting Mat, Ms Quilting Ruler, and Dame Rotary Cutter), I managed to cut out lots of strips of fabric ...

Then, I even snatched some time on the weekend to sew them all together ... neatly!

Now, I'm up to the quilting bit. I didn't quite have enough lovely wool batting to cover my quilt top (which is 130cm x 130cm), so I thought I could craftily join some pieces together to get the right dimensions. Sadly, it didn't work (too much puckering), so I'm going to have to make the trek to Spotty for some batting the right size before I actually quilt it. In the mean time, I just like looking at it. So many of my favourite Liberty Prints ...

More creative spaces here - why don't you join in, if you haven't already! Have a great Thursday!

if you live in Canberra ...

Hurry in to Shop Handmade and pick up a great selection of Yardage Design homewares before we take a break at the end of March and let some other designers sell their wares at this lovely shop! That means you have just two weeks people (as if you needed another reason to visit)!

Yardage Design kitchen art canvases @ Shop Handmade (image from here)

Yardage Design Tea Towels + bunting panels @ Shop Handmade (image from here)

Shop Handmade :: City Walk, Canberra :: open six days :: website

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Shop Handmade for stocking my wares - Yardage Design has been with you from the start, and I'm sure we'll be back again!

some shopping therapy this weekend?

It's a long weekend in Victoria this weekend, so I thought I'd tempt the locals (and visitors alike) ...

I had the pleasure of dropping in to chat with Rachael from Maker Handmade in South Melbourne yesterday. I really love this shop. If I were going to open a shop, it would be like this - full of hand crafted and beautiful things. The variety is amazing as you can see from my photo's above - delicate jewellery, fragrant soaps and creams, hand upholstered furniture, clothing, artworks, homewares and so much more. I love how Rachael styles her shop too. At the moment she has a beautiful vintage dressing table in the window displaying beautiful girly things like handmade clutches, necklaces and delicate ceramic items - my photo (and all the reflection!) does not do it justice. It's really worth a visit. While you're in South Melbourne, you could also drop in to another of my favourite shops (just up the road from Maker Handmade) - Izzi and Popo - gorgeous French and European collectables and homewares. They have the most lovely french linen in the shop at the moment - drool! So once you factor in refuelling at one of the many cafes or the South Melbourne Market, I think you could easily spend a morning or afternoon in "therapy"! Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you enjoy it. Be safe!

planning ...

... a Liberty quilt in shades of blue and lavender ...

Seems that quilting is going on in lots of places right now, including at the home of creative spaces, Kootoyoo.

Have a great Thursday!

agapanthus floor cushions by mookah

I've been meaning to tell you for you a while that the lovely ladies at Mookah are making floor cushions with my white agapanthus fabric ...

Floor Cushion and pic by Mookah

You might remember that I asked Mookah to make me a floor cushion last year from my {exclaim} fabric in ocean blue. Our floor cushion gets used everyday, and is holding up well to the demands of a 4 year old (it's a seat, a launching pad, a missile, you name it!).

Mookah have a lovely new online store where you can buy the agapanthus floor cushion along with lots of other beautiful things for your home. Check it out here: Mookah Shop

Have a lovely Wednesday!

retro

Found at Camberwell Market yesterday ... love! It's in perfect condition and was a bargain (to me) at $10 - I talked the guy down from $12!

Reminds me of my school days in the 80s. I never had one of these, but I could have stored my favourite erasers in the little drawers and my best highlighters in the pen containers!

Have a retro Monday!

vintage finds ...

I paid a visit to one of my favourite vintage/second-hand/antique shops the other day. I have been going to this shop since we moved to Melbourne about eight years ago - our first house was just down the road. I always find something fabulous here, which is why I have to limit my visits! The first find was a super amazing Comet Crystal toy sewing machine. I just love the design and the colour, and it still sews ... just "like mothers"!

I also got some of these nice old Willow pie tins (thanks Mum!). It's hard to find these in such good condition ...

I hope you've found some nice things lately too. Pop over here to see what others bloggers have found.
Happy Sunday!