pom pommerific!

I have a dream of one day doing my big boys' bedroom up in nautical colours (not a nautical theme). At the moment it is... let say, eclectic (the reason you won't see any photos of that room on this blog for quite some time!). Today, I promised them if they went to bed like big boys, I would make them something new for their room for bedtime tomorrow night. I am part of the way there! Hoping that the two wee boys may give me some time tomorrow to do some more pom pom making and complete the project by bedtime.

Hope you've been able to squeeeeze some crafting into your weekend too.
xo

Crafty goodness - I have been sewing!

Hellooooo! Some crafty goodness today - I have been sewing!

This dress was simple, just a few rectangles sewn together, strapless, and then some casing for the elastic in the back, whip a belt around the middle, voila! Popped this together a few weeks ago for a surpringly hot day, but haven't had the opportunity to photograph it. I wish I had a better photo of this dress (a full length one may have been helpful, right?), but I don't. So instead, I'll ask you to imagine the dress that then just falls to just below my knees and has the same trim on the bottom as it has on the top.

Oh, I did take another photo with my tripod one day at the park, but as I am behind my two boys, it just looks as though I am completely naked. Bother.

On other news I am attempting to make a wee cot quilt for Little Pickle. I have no idea how it's done, having only made one for the Gherkin, some years ago, but am giving it a bash anyway. Given that the boys have only just started going to sleep on their own (perhaps a very happy and unanticipated consequence of sharing a bedroom?) we have decided to delay Little Pickle's shift from a cot to a big boy bed for as long as we can. My little man is definitely not going to outgrow the cot anytime soon! So, it's time I made him some special bedding for his cot, at least. I am determined to use fabric from my stash only, but we'll see how that turns out. Photos of the work in progress next time.
Life in the country seems to suit us so far - we are catching (and returning safely) tadpoles, picking flowers, finding bugs, splashing in puddles, admiring the local birdlife, getting up close and personal with moss and mushrooms, watching storms (yes, we have had a bit of rain) and we are slowly starting to recognise some local faces.
I hope you are well and happy? Until next time, have fun xx

A Big Move.

Hello hello!

So, I have Big News. We Have Moved! To The Country! And loving it.

We have space to breathe, the boys can run amok, the pug has been running (I know, hard to believe), and it is green green green from every window. It is cold in the middle of summer (yes, the boys are wearing at least two shirts each in this photo!), but lovely. Just lovely.

And there is room for my dear friend (yet to be named - any suggestions?), excitingly, inside the house (unlike at our last place where all things crafty were banished to the shed, just because of lack of space).

I have been busy on the crafty front too, with some pieces I can't reveal as yet (becase they are horribly overdue gifts), but will reveal soon. Oh! And am thinking of doing some markets shortly, so I will have to share all my crafted goodies for sale. Perhaps I might also pop some in the etsy shop again...?

Or perhaps I could stop my random chatter and instead share some photos of our new home.

Chat soon, and have fun xx

new year's resolution results in less than successful dressmaking.

the saggy baggy elephant by kathryn jackson

Imagine....

Little Pickle asleep. The Gherkin at occasional care. Me, on the loungeroom floor, cutting fabric.

Then some days later...

Little Pickle asleep. The Gherkin asleep. Both of them, snoring by 9pm. My uni work done for the week. Mr Pickles going to bed. My seizing the opportunity with both hands and heading out to the back room for some time with my fifteen year old Brother (by this I mean my sewing machine, of course). Off to sew a cute little stretch denim number, perfect for spring, over tights, tees, leggings, or bare legs with boots, or under cardis (plus brooch, of course!). I had even selected a cute black and white polka dot bias binding for the neck.

Some two hours later I had a dress! But sadly, dear reader, it does not fit. You see, the dress is supposed to be relatively loosefitting, but the gaping at the back is extreme. I had to readjust the pleats at the front as I went, but missed the work needed at the back (one day I will invest in a dressmakers dummy). So the unpicker is getting a workout this week, and I will be learning to fit a dress...

I will pop up my pre-post photos once I have finished... wish me luck!

What are your handy hint for fitting clothes? Do you make changes to the pattern before you start to sew? Or do you fit later?

I think probably those of you out there who know how to do it will not be spending this week unpicking bias tape and trying to pin something that is going on behind your back... that will be me. But, you know, I am not dreading it as much as perhaps I could be - I am still on track for ticking off one of my crafty resolutions of the year - yippee!

Chat soon lovelies, xo

i've been busy...

Yep, it's official... I am back into crafting. After the gherkin's gran & pa left on Sunday after a week long (almost) visit, I returned to my spare room floor and sewing machine two days ago, and made the most of the little man's day sleeps. I have (as always) a few projects on the go - here is a sneak peek...

I also whipped up a floor mat for the little Gherkin to roll around on, as he was starting to hang off the edges of the mats we were using just weeks ago. He isn't rolling yet, but he is doing 180 degree turns in his cot, so when I go in during a day sleep he is often upside down in his cot. You just can't do a 180 on a small mat!

To make the mat I used a cute print flannelette which I bought before we had the Gherkin (Mr Pickles is quite concerned now that there is too much pink on the fabric), with a cream flannelette backing, And I was feeling adventurous - for the first time ever I put wadding in the middle. I was trying to avoid binding dramas I have read about in so many other blogs, so I tried to cheat by creating a fabric "envelope", inserting the wadding and then topstitching. Probably needless to say, it's lumpy. But the Gherkin didn't seem to mind (or at least, he didn't complain!), so it should to the trick.

Any ideas or links on EASY quilt binding or mat stuffing would be much appreciated!!!

Oh, and late last week I also treated myself and bought one of these:

I reckon this should come to good use when I make more sunhats - I can't wait to try this out!

Anyway, I'm heading off. Got a date with the hairdresser (this time with the Gherkin in tow). Cross your fingers for me!

Chat soon xo

such a well behaved little pug! ... and a work in progress...

such a well behaved little pug!
Originally uploaded by summer pickles

Sometimes our litle dog just surprises us... As he did tonight, when he sat (yes, he is sitting in this photo) on the end cushion of the lounge and just watched me arrange all of these fabric pieces, trying to decide on a layout for bub's quilt. No picking up a piece and running down the hallway, no walking all over them, no licking them to try to get any loose threads... What a good little dog!

I am trying to make a quilt for floor time for our very-soon-to-arrive baby, without any of the usual quilting tools. It will be a four block, nine patch quilt (after some searching on on the good ol' internerd I think this is what quilters would call it?). After some handy hints from Lara though, I am seriously considering buying myself a cutting mat, rotary cutter and transparent ruler. If you haven't seen Lara's quilt yet, you might like to check it out here.

Perhaps with the right tools my quilts might be a bit more successful - better than when I rely on a dodgy paper template and a pair of scissors?

Will post an update when I get closer to completion...

Have fun everyone!
xo

we're still a family of three...

First things first... how come my text doesn't go all the way over to the right... does anyone know how I can do this??? And how come my line spacing always goes completely out of whack when I insert a picture????

Yep, still just a family of three (me, hubby, plus the dog), in spite of the prolonged absence (sorry to those of you who got excited, thinking this was a hint!). We have been out of the house for a week whilst the house got painted. The house has been beautifully "duluxed" - walls are now Antique White USA, the skirting and architraves White on White and one of the walls in the baby's room is a quite out there shade of Magnetic Magic. But no photos for now... we are hoping to surprise the family when they all come down from interstate to visit bub, so no photos until after bub (and grandparents) have arrived!

Perhaps some exciting news... I have been sewing!!!

This is the end result of some time playing with bright and patterned black and white fabrics...

I just threw these together without patterns or anything to go from and am not totally thrilled with either of them, but at least I have two prototypes now and I can keep improving on them...

I am also in the swing of making a not-so-developmentally-stimulating mobile from fabrics which just got me incredibly excited... [will insert a photo of the fabrics here as soon as my camera is charged] photos of the completed mobile to follow shortly. Not to worry --- those of you concerned about early development, there will be other stimulating items for bub to gaze upon!

We have finished our childbirth classes now (and not a moment too soon!) and are now booked in for a caesar as bub is hanging out very high up in my ribs, in breech position mostly, exactly where it has been since 24 weeks, occasionally mixing it up with a bit of transverse lying... lovely! The good news is I don't have to go to the toilet all the time, the less than fabulous news is my ribs ache like crazy. It is quite amazing to be here after our journey to get to this point...
[warning: gratuitous belly shot below! taken a week ago.... check out the outie!]

I hope you are all well and happy and life treating you beautifully.
xo

ps. thanks to those of you who have been commenting... I will respond, I will, this is my new resolution... soon!

decorating 101

Help! I am not a decorator...

I have a whole house in the early stages of renovations (we still have some way to go!), and am feeling the urge to NEST. One major part of this nesting is to plan out, and design our nursery.

This is the nursery as it is right now... isn't it beautiful?!? (don't feel that you need to answer that!)

Floorboards are yet to be sanded and polished, but are likely to come out much darker than this. Skirting boards (arriving in 2 weeks) will be quite deep (high) and painted white, we have gorgeous detailed cornices which you can't see in this photo - these plus ceiling will also be white. But to do with the rest of the space? We have a dark timber cot for bub, still waiting for us to pick up at the shop...

At the moment, this room is such a joy to behold! (ha ha) As this is also our spare room for any visitors at the moment, we have kept up the gorgeous gold curtains left behind by the previous owner, which I think adds a little something special...

If you had this room, what would you do with it? The view out the window is the brick wall of the other semi-detached terrace next door... I thought I would throw at you various ideas/rooms that I LOVE, and will look forward to hearing your thoughts back... as always your ideas are welcomed and encouraged!!

--- I LOVE this colour!!! Thanks to Jess from how about orange for pointing me toward this great room seen in 50 of our favourite rooms by dominomag

--- love the details in this room... gorgeous. Of course, we wouldn't expect anything less from a room by house n baby

---I also really love this nursery by Kristi and Nick .

--- think I am particularly struck by the colour combinations in this room, love those blues and greens together! This room by prairieguns .

Of course I couldn't include all of my favourites here... you can see more rooms I love at http://www.flickr.com/photos/summerpickles/favorites/

Thanks lovelies, x

flannel bonanza!

Hi all

Well, as many of you know, I went to the stitches and craft show, and I did make some purchases, but then moved out to have the house restumped, couldn't find my camera charger, the list goes on!

At home with the dog today, sitting in front of the computer, quilt curled around me, drinking pineapple juice... (if I wasn't a snot monster this might just be heaven... oh, and of course if the hubby were her -- oops!), and remembered I hadn't done the show and tell with my flannel purchases. So here they are....

I only bought one fat quarter of each one (I was at a quilting stall, but had no idea how big that was... how embarrassing!), with the thought of stitching them all together to make a wrap or floor mat or something for our new person in the making. What do you think? This is what I think I will do with them....

It will be my first ever quilt though so I am a week bit nervous... any handy hints more than welcome. I am also interested if you quilters think that how I have mocked up the design on the computer is legitimate, or if I should be waiting til the pieces are cut before deciding on the layout?

Have a lovely Thursday, Friday and weekend x

Pattern puzzlement... any ideas?

Hi everyone

Thought I would try to be really clever and "whip up" (ha!) a top (getting really adventurous with the sewing now!!!).

And I am completely STUCK on one stage! Driving me bonkers! Do any of you have any ideas????

I have posted pics of the pattern pieces and the instructions here should you be feeling generous with your advice...

Thankyou!
xo

Oh! and we do have a winner for pay it forward... just have to take the photos! (stay tuned...)

xx

a bit quiet on the crafting front

1. monkey minus head, 2. doorknobs, 3. plants from the lounge room, 4. jessica the elephant - close up

Hello! (in case you crafters are still out there?)

Just a very quick post to apologise for my lack of crafting content of late... I am one of those people who believes that if you start something with a clear purpose (eg. this blog, talking crafting and creativity) then you should stick to that purpose, and it seems I have strayed....

So, the reason I have perhaps strayed a little is that I have (sadly) had no time for crafting or even scouring the world for incredible crafters.... we have been renovating! (Please don't read the exclamation mark as unbridled enthusiasm... it is some exhaustion, some frustration and a little bit of manic giggling as things don't quite turn out how we would have liked!)

What I can show you today is photos of a number of works in progress.... some renovation work, some crafting work... enjoy, and I hope to be back to the land of creating (and finding inspiration) very soon!
xx

good luck Tash! and a work in progress

Hi there!

Just a quick one (have to get out and do the gricery shopping at some point!).

Thought I would post an update on my secret squirrel pressie to be. My girlfriend is in hospital as I type this post, so I KNOW she won't be checking out the blog... Good luck Tash & Pete! We can't wait to meet your new member of the family in the outside world! xx

So, here is a bit of an update on my bird project... I had fun with these small scraps of fabric... I need to remember to put a coin next to my toys when I take a photo so you can get a sense of scale... next time! My own pattern, so a bit of room for improvement! But I am really enjoying working on these.

Have a gorgeous week!
xx

Well, a new batch of pre-loved buttons arrived in the post, and they are wonderful! I have included a couple of little photos so you can get a sense of the fun I have to look forward to this week!

I am finding that whilst my button necklaces in the past used to be primarily the same colour, I am getting more excited about mixing different colours as my collection of odd vintage buttons grows (by odd I mean one only, rather than a few of the same style/colour). So I have numerous piles of two of three buttons around the place at the moment, of happy button combinations, waiting to be made into something....

Heading off to a "trash and treasure" market tomorrow, which promises to be a bit of fun, rummaging around things people no longer want.... I am really after an old lined jacket, which I can unstitch and make into a bag... I have something quite specific in mind, so probably won't find anything like it, but I will certainly post it here if I do! Of course, I can nevsr have too many buttons.... ;)

Anyway, it is quite late, so I should probably go and see how the hubby is going and then crash out (need to have energy for the market tomorrow!).

Chat soon, xx

ps. not sure if you have noticed the new header, with the buttons.... think that this is what I wil stick with for now :)

hello again... have been having more fun with buttons this week and have really been enjoying myself! I don't know what I prefer more, the making or the photographing after...


Here is a first test of a new earring design using new and preloved buttons. I think that there is room for improvement here - concept is good I think, just needs some more work...






I was looking for somewhere to photograph these, and saw the pebbles at the bottom of my orchid, and got excited about the colours together. So it may not be the best "product photo" but I love the colours of the pebbles with the orange buttons, and the green plant in the background...


Here is another photo of works in progress...




....our coffee table often looks like this, covered in buttons, felt, beads, stuffing for toys etc etc. But this can't be called mess...it's just too pretty!


Anyway, off to work for me now, have a beautiful week!
xx