Pretty much...

Sew much to do...

2010-08-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

Poor neglected little blog. The last 6 months have been somewhat overwhelming and in my typical fashion one of many neglected areas was blogging. but I am hopeful that we are now in a pause-for-breath at the very least phase, lol, and I need to get back on board with blogging about my crafty endeavours, for they have been myriad! Up above is a case I finally made for my iPod Touch from Janelle Wind's lovely book "Pieces of Me". It's about time I stopped just throwing the poor iPod straight into my bag and this pouch was quick and easy to make from some favourite spotty fabrics. I will definitely be making more projects from this delicious book.

WIPs:
I am currently working on:

my goodies for the second round of the {Urban} Home Goods Swap running on flickr
House blocks for the August round of the Australasian Bee on flickr
Kim Mclean's Lollypop Trees quilt, running as a Block of the Month through Material obsession in Sydney
Petals and Patches Block of the Month running through Stitch here in Christchurch

I am shockingly up to date in my Not Your Grandmother's Quilting Bee (The Hive) swap (also through flickr - I heart flickr) and have been rearranging/rationalising my crafting supplies since shifting house has necessitated a change in crafting environment. I was a little concerned that moving from a whole room dedicated to crafty pursuits to a 'nook' off the TV lounge would be problematic. But far from it! I haven't been this creative or productive in a long time and I still get to feel like I am part of the family. Oscar loves pulling his little yellow stool up beside me and doing some drawing or just asking me about what I am working on. He has even had a go at his first sewing project - stitching 2 rectangles of fabric together with needle and thread to make a pocket for 'his' iPod (one of the old school narrow skinny ones from a couple of generations ago that his dad has moved on from - not exactly the kind of hand-me-downs we got back in the day!). I love the view of the garden outside my window and as spring approaches it is really starting to get pretty out there. When the wisteria starts dripping down right in front of me I will be in crafty Heaven!

Zippy love...

2010-02-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

I started making zippy pouches last year and I love them. Probably comes from my abiding passion for stationery and pens (and needing things to stash them in). I especially love sewing them out of linen/cotton mixes and oil cloth. I recently bought a teflon foot for my sewing machine and it makes sewing things like oil cloth and clear plastic a breeze.

This weekend I thought I'd have a go at press studs and make a zippy from the fabulous tutorial available over at noodleheads - even I managed to follow this through correctly first try (and my legendary lack of mental spatial visualisation skill applies not just to my sense of direction but to my ability to follow patterns!). Here is my first little tabbed zippy, but i doubt it will be my last - these guys are just too dang cute to stop at one!

It's been a fab crafty weekend here at chez Pretty Much - I also got started on sanding and repainting (a gorgeous soft grey/blue) the oak dresser I won on Trade Me, cut a bunch more blocks for a Bento Box quilt I have been making for ever, and while my lovely husband finished painting a couple of bedroom doors I finished sewing together my Pillow Talk {Swap 2} cushion cover (called a pillow by our friends in the north). I attempted an invisible zipper but that lack of spatial visualisation ability bit me in my ample arse and I decided to recover my sense of self-efficacy by finishing it off with an envelope back (which looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself). Now I just hope my partner likes it!

And away we go...

2010-02-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

This years plan for more regular blogging is to make this a record of WIPs and finished objects. I've joined a couple of cool sewing swaps through flickr - one is a pillow (cushion for my fellow antipodeans) swap, and the other is a year long quilting bee with fellow quilters from Australasia. My blocks are due to be created in May so I need to make a decision soon about fabric and pattern - decisions, decisions!

I have a number of completed items, both knit and sewn, to take photos of. But despite it supposedly being summer here, there has not been a great deal of good photograph weather. Hopefully tomorrow!

On a roll

2009-06-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

Finally got this Queen sized quilt back from the long-armer (who did a fab job) and I have been frantically stitching down the binding so I can get it on our bed. It is getting mighty chilly here now and another layer will not go amiss.

Quilt is made from Moda's Chez Moi 'Fresh Aire' range; 2 x charm packs and 1 x jelly roll, with a coordinating stripe (from another Moda range) for inner border and binding.
Totally fast and easy - just take one charm square and sew strips around it from a contrasting fabric from the jelly roll. Repeat until you have enough for quilt top!

New obsession...

2009-06-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

My newest internet time guzzler is viewing my fave flickr groups via a nifty little tool called Cooliris. Flickr is already a constant source of inspiration for me but viewing it via Cooliris is just spectacular. I defy you to download this tool and not get pulled into a black hole of time suckage. So much fun!

FOs & WIPS

2009-06-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

One of each! On the finished object front I have just squashed Oscar's new quilt in the dryer and he is very excited about sleeping under it tonight. However, in typical 4 year old fashion he has crushed me by wanting it backing side up on the bed! I should have known better - the backing is a rainbow-striped flannel, and the O Man has long been captivated by rainbows. Sigh. Oh well, I think the front looks pretty good anyway! Crappy photos, but it is winter here and good light is in short supply.

Next up are a new pair of Monkey socks in beautiful blend of my fave sunset colours, dyed by the fantastic Michelle of Needle Food called 'Kellie's Jaffa' - squeeeee! I have a yarn! (yes, I am a dork, why do you ask?)
I get my queen sized bed quilt back from the Long-armer on Friday, so I have the binding all ready to go. I have been waiting ages for this one and am very keen to get it on our bed and to finally throw out the manky excuse for a coverlet we are using at the moment.

After two days at home with a sick pre-schooler (just a cold, nothing oinky!) I am looking forward to escaping and hanging out with some crafty friends for the evening. A good time to get some very overdue baby knits finished up.

Fresh starts

2009-06-15T01:49:00.000-07:00

I am once again attempting to dip my toes in the blog world as an active participant. Crafty content will still be the main theme with the occasional appearance of the sweetest boy I know. Unfortunately I would decide to blog again in winter (Southern Hemisphere) so brace yourselves for some seriously badly lit photos!

So what has been occupying most of my crafty time of late? Sewing - and quilting in particular. So much amazing inspiration out there in blogland and the correct alignment of the planets and I am suddenly a sewing machine (ho ho!). I have completed 3 quilt tops (2 queen, 1 double), 2 cot quilts, 2 stroller blankets, and a cushion cover in the past couple of months - an amazing amount of output for me. The queen quilt I have sent out to a longarm quilter but I am quilting the other 2 bed sized quilts myself. I am also quilting a 'cheater' quilt made out of Denyse Schmidt's Patchwork Promenade design - we urgently need a throw for our leather couch that gets a lot of sun on it so I didn't want to spend too much time putting something together. This is great because it looks like a funky log cabin quilt without the piecing. All I have to do is sew around the edges of the blocks to mimic seams - perfect!

I am still knitting but keep forgetting to photograph my projects so I have some catching up to do this weekend (when I will hopefully encounter enough daylight to get some passable shots).

Hope your week is getting off to a great start!