Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SALE ends tonight 9pm



Thanks so much to everyone who has visited and purchased things from my shop during this sale. I am busily packing up orders ready to be posted tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know that there are still lots of bargains (especially pre-cut fat quarters of fabric) to be found.

I also wanted to let you know that many of my homewares products will not be available again after this sale. I want to release a new range later this year. The shop will be closed from this weekend for a month or two, so now's your chance to stock up!

Thanks again,

Sunday, May 29, 2011

SALE on NOW!

It's 6pm, and the shop "doors" are open ... happy shopping!
Don't forget, orders over $100 (excluding postage) will get one of these limited edition Vintage Ice Coupon Tea Towels (while stocks last), which aren't available to buy.

fancy some fat quarters?

Stacks of pre-cut fabric fat quarters at 25% off in the Yardage Design SALE which starts tonight at 6pm. More details (incase you missed them) here.


Don't miss the bargain Misprints + Samples either - at $5 a pop, you can't go wrong. Who doesn't love a lucky dip?! Drop into the shop from 6pm tonight to bag a bargain (or maybe a very early Christmas present)!



Saturday, May 28, 2011

SALE starts this Sunday

The Yardage Design online shop will be on sale from 6pm tomorrow (Sunday) for two days.

Orders over $100 (excluding postage) will get one of these limited edition Vintage Ice Coupon Tea Towels (while stocks last), which aren't available to buy.


This will be the last time that some Yardage Design tea towels and market bags will be available to buy - it's time for some fresh, new designs! Happy shopping!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

winter crafting

We've had a cold snap here in Melbourne this week, so winter craft has taken hold a few weeks early.


The brooch I was making earlier in the week for the flower press brooch swap is now finished thanks to the addition of some black interfacing to keep everything firm and avoid fraying. Check out the brooch swap flickr page to see what others are making.


While I was working on the brooch, I got an idea to make a scarf from some lovely wool fabric I bought last winter ...


This scarf is made from just 25cm of wool fabric - selvedge to selvedge (literally - I left them as they were) - and then embellished with some woollen fabric offcuts; machine sewn using a blanket stitch. It took about half an hour, and I love it! The photo below shows the actual colours much better ...


Last but not least, I've been knitting a cowl ... in the round (excuse my first-time enthusiasm)! I feel very advanced (and slightly out of my depth), but it seems to be working somehow. Big needles and big wool are forgiving and lovely! I'm not following any pattern, just enough stitches to go around the needles, using the one stitch I know, and I'll stop when it's wide enough (OK, not really advanced at all, is it?!).


More creativity over here today!

P.S. Now might be the time to sign up for the Yardage Design Newsletter (on the sidebar) if you haven't already - an online shop SALE will be announced shortly.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

lucky me!

This gorgeous cushion arrived in the post on Monday ...


Made by the very clever Chantal, it features a hand embroidered vintage sewing machine - perfect! Thanks so much Chantal, I love it! A huge thanks to Vic for organising this amazing swap. You can see what other excellent cushions were swapped here.

showtime {soon}

It's that time of year again ... time to think about entering something in the Royal Melbourne Show art, craft and cookery competition. I'm on my annual "let's get more indie-craft into the show" campaign! I hope you can join me!


Detailed entry information and entry forms can be found here, but I've summarised the essential info:

~ Entry forms and fees are due Wednesday 27 July 2011 (the fees are less if you enter by 17 June)
~ Your actual entry (art, craft) must be delivered by hand on 14-15 September at the showgrounds, or by post by 13 September
~ This means you will have almost 2 months between when you enter and when your item is due
~ You can also enter things you've made within 2 years of the show date, as long as you haven't entered them in a previous Royal Melbourne Show
~ Entries are open to anyone from anywhere in Australia!

Here are just some of the categories (there are loads of sub-categories under each) ...

bead craft
crochet
embroidery
fashion and design
felting
jewellery
knitting (by hand and machine)
needlework tapestry
paper crafts
patchwork, quilting & applique
toy making


I participated last year and managed a Commended Certificate for my machine embroidered cushion (chuffed!).  I'm  going to enter again this year, and my hope is that the blogging craft community is really well represented with wonderful, clever, creative craft.

Please feel free to use parts of this post to promote the show on your blog - the more the merrier!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

brooch progress

I've had a bit of time this afternoon to work on my brooch for the flower press brooch swap ...


I like working with the wool felt, but I don't think the woollen tweed will hold together (for everyday use), so I may replace that with another piece of woollen felt. I love the little button I found - vintage, black and with a four leaf clover for luck! I'm also loving the autumnal colours and textures of this wool - I might have to make myself one of these brooches too! Hope your Sunday has been a fun day!

proteas




Have a lovely Sunday!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

the beginning

I bought these wool offcuts last week at Peppergreen Antiques in Berrima with a view to craft them into a brooch for the flower press brooch swap. Today I'm just looking and thinking - what colours, what shapes, what embellishments ...


Have a great Saturday!

Friday, May 20, 2011

electric car update

It's been about a month since my last update, which means that we're a bit over half way through our three month government trial of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV - a wholly electric car. We've been using the car almost exclusively this past month - to get a good idea of what it would be like to own it. We continue to use it a lot around our local area - picking up and dropping off kids and shopping. It's really perfect for this application.

"Refuelling"
The first major challenge for this car was getting us all to the airport and back. This car has a "fuel" gauge like any other car, except that what it's showing you is the amount of electric charge available. Our first trip to the aiprort took half a tank of charge. This was a little concerning as we aren't able to recharge anywhere except our house. How on earth would we get home with more weight in the car (two extra people) without running out of charge? We flew off for a few days and came back to hop in the car and see how far we would get. We had plans to "abort the mission" when we got close to empty - park the car somewhere and catch a cab home. On the way home, we decided to use the ECO mode (instead of normal DRIVE mode) - this reduces your overall speed considerably, but does conserve energy. After a slow trip on the Tulla Freeway (about 90kmph was our top speed) we made it home. At most, this was a 60km round trip. We were a little frustrated - you should be able to get comfortably to and from the airport from the inner eastern suburbs.

We had to do the same trip to the airport the following weekend. This time we used ECO mode on the trip to the airport, and DRIVE on the way back. We had more charge left than last time! The important thing about this trip is that we realised what an important role level ground makes to fuel efficiency. The trip to the airport is almost all uphill. The trip home is almost all downhill. So, in calculating where you are going, these factors need to be taken into account. The verdict ... this car needs a much longer range.

The other thing we've concluded is that you need to be able to just plug the car into any powerpoint to recharge. At the moment, the trial has partnered with BetterPlace to provide charging stations. However, you need a special plug (and the station of course) to recharge. There is an adaptor for a powerpoint, but it must be 15 amps (normal powerpoints are 10 amps). I get the use of dedicated charging stations for public places, but there has to be a fallback (other than calling a tow truck) if you run out of charge.

The charging station
OK. Now for some good news. We got our first electricity bill since we've had the car this week. To be honest, I've been dreading this bill - I had visions of a huge number staring back at me. As I said, we've been using this car almost exclusively this past month, which means fully charging it every 3-4 days. We do always charge at night, which means we're using off-peak power, but each charge takes about 6 hours. It was not possible to see any real increase in our electricity bill at all (maybe $20). I am impressed - this was not what I expected at all.

Thanks for all of your questions and interest in this car and the trial. As I mentioned in previous posts, we're not being paid in any way to participate, so our review of this car is as we experience it on a day-to-day basis. This car/technology has such potential, and hopefully feedback from this trial (including your comments) will make it more practical and viable.

Have a great Friday!


Thursday, May 19, 2011

clicking

Still clicking and learning over here. I'm looking at things differently now, and I'm better off for it - it gives me perspective and is relaxing ...



It just wouldn't be right not to include this photo I took (on my phone, so not wonderful quality!) of a huge cabinet full of vintage fabrics at Peppergreen Antiques in Berrima (NSW) on the weekend. Seriously, one of the best collections of vintage fabric and haberdashery I have ever seen. I bought some beautiful woollen tweed which I am thinking of using for a little project next week.


More creativity here today!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

david met nicole

I've been flitting about in Sydney for the last few days, which was wonderful. I got to catch up with old friends and visit new shops. My favourite find was David Met Nicole, so I decided to practice my camera skills and share this gorgeous vintage shop with you ...

Hundreds of woodblock letters!





Everything in this store is just lovely! There is a tasty cafe just across the road in the garden centre too, which isn't bad for a bit a quasi-celeb spotting (we sat next to Brendan Moar at brunch). Anyway, David Met Nicole can be found at 382 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, and online here.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

drift

The temperature outside at the moment is telling me it's time to trying knitting again. So, while I was in the city yesterday (actually, Thursday, as blogger lost this post!), I popped into Clegs and found this beautiful, chocolatey coloured, thick wool ...






























I want to make another scarf of some sort (maybe a cowl) because I wear them every day when it's cold. I'm in the process of looking around for some simple patterns, so any recommendations would be welcome! What are you knitting this year?

Thanks for the lovely comments about my cushion swap cushion - I was thrilled - it's a shame that blogger lost all of those that were made on Thursday. Nevermind!







P.S. If you're like me and you can't knit very well yet, my friend Jaimie has just started knitting things for people. You can find Jaimie here.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

cheats patchwork?

I have just finished my contribution to Vic's Cushion Swap 2011, and this is it ...






























I make lots of cushions - for myself, for the business, for friends - so I used the swap as an excuse to challenge myself and try something new, using only Yardage Design fabric from my scrap basket. I came up with a "woven" design idea. Strips of fabric woven together then ironed onto fusible interfacing before being sewn in place.


I really enjoyed the construction phase and blabbed all over facebook about how I had discovered a cheats method of patchwork! Then I started sewing .... the first attempt was not so successful (too much movement and puckering), so I spent quite sometime unpicking before trying again with better, firmer fusible interfacing. Certainly not patchwork, and definitely not cheating! In the end, I was really happy with the result. I backed the cushion with navy Circa fabric to go with the ones on the front, and made the cushion reversible by adding an invisible zip. I hope my swap recipient likes it!


Check out other cushions being made for the swap over at Vic's - go here.

Have a great Thursday!