I Got It!!!

Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!!! I received my Doll Quilt today from the DQS2 and let me tell you now..... I LOVE IT!!!!!!! You see, Raesha really has done an amazing job, it's just perfect, my taste down to a tee! The colours and the patterns in the fabrics are just divine. I can't tell you enough how excited I am at the moment to have received such a beautiful piece. I told you... Pretty special hey?

On my craft front, I've finished those blue booties that I started a couple of days back. I also decided to knit up a matching blue beanie with the leftover wool from the booties. I'll let you all know how I get on with it.

Thrifty Finds

Yesterday I popped into my local thrift shop, St Vinnie's, and look at what I found... I just couldn't believe my eyes when I came across a big basket labelled 'aprons'. It had about 30 or so in it... I was in heaven! I just love aprons and some of the fabric in these old ones will be fantastic sewn into mini aprons for my princess like in this post.

Now I could have bought all of those beautiful aprons as they were only 50cents each and I know that the money goes to a good cause, but I restrained myself and only bought 8. It was so hard to pick which lucky aprons would be spending the rest of their life in my wonderful abode..... After an hour of decision making I'm pretty happy with the selections that I have made. My favourite one of them all would have to be this one...

I just love the daisy fabric, it's absolutely DIVINE!!!! As you can see it still has the original tag on it...

Now isn't that priceless? I also noticed these little treasures while I was sorting through the aprons.They are the cutest little things! After a soak in detol and a good clean they've come up brand new. They all stack inside each other and as you can see my little princess thinks they're pretty terrific.

That about wraps it up for my thrifty post... I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Flash Back Friday #2

I can't believe that it's Friday already!!! Here's my pre 1985 pic #2.... This one was taken about 1984 over at Louth on the river. We went over there quite a lot when we were kids. I can always remember that dad just loved to fish. He used to load the old Holden Ute up, strap the tinny (boat) to the roof, then off we'd go. Wasn't my mum a hottie! Not many people can get away with wearing shorts that short, I know I can't. My dad's the one without the hat on, in case you were wondering. Oh the good old days....

I got a chance to snap a quick shot of my new little tribe today. Isn't my little princess just so clever, giving Beauty a snack.

I managed to finish the brown bootees that I started yesterday.

While I was knitting them up I made up this pattern...

Pretty Darn Cute isn't it? I thought that they'd be good in spring when it's not qiute so fresh. I'm trialing blues at the moment as I'm due to be blessed with a new nephew any day now.

My Newest Additions

On Sunday my DH took me over to Louth to pick up the newest additions to my family. Here they are...I also got a ewe with twins at foot. Unfortunately they don't like to stand still enough to have there picture taken, well a clear one at least, so you'll have to wait for another day to get a looksee at them. If you look really hard you can see her in the far right hand corner of the above pic. She's locked up separate with her babies until she settles in.

I just love them all so much!!! They all have names (of coarse) and each and every one has personality to boot. We have Lucky (she's the one with the twins that I couldn't get a clear photo of), Browny (she's just about to have a baby and is to the left of the pic above), Beau (he's the little tan coloured ram in the middle of the pic) and last but not least Beauty (my little black and white baby girl to the right).... The most spoilt of them all would have to be Beau, he just loves to give me kisses, it's so sweet!!! I never thought sheep could be so friendly. My other 4 sheep are friendly but nothing like this tribe.

As for my little princess, she is in animal heaven!!! She's absolutely loves having all of these animals around her. Every time that we drive up the driveway she practically jumps out of her car seat trying to get her face up to the window to see them all. Then, whilst undoing her straps to let her out of the car she can't fight her excitement and has to let out several little squeals just to let them know that she's home. Mind you, the animals are equally excited to see her too, jumping around. Priceless!!!

This morning I managed to knit up one of these Saartje's Bootees before my little princess started her day. I originally got the link from my sister over at Bliss...by luv abby and she in turn got it from Crafted By Kylie. I've changed the pattern just a little bit and have decided to do the straps in a completely different way. Here's what I've done so far... I'll still use buttons to fasten the straps down but have decided to embellish the straps with some crocheting.

On another note... The team over at madeit.com left me a comment on this post so I decided to go check them out. Let me fill you in on a little secret.... They have a blog and a web site and guess what... their both GREAT!!! It's set up for Aussie's to buy and/or sell handmade/homemade products. There isn't a lot for sale on there as of yet but hopefully after a little bit more exposure the product lists will grow. I'm really considering listing a couple of items with them to see how I go. It has a really fresh feel about it, not at all like etsy or eBay, I'm really loving it!!! p.s I have a link to their site in the column to the right.

Oh The Possibilities!!!

I was checking out a few blogs this afternoon when I came across a link to the most amazing site. It's called myrecycledbag.com. You should really go check it out, it's unbelievable!!! There's a great tutorial there on how to turn your common plastic shopping bag into usable yarn (plarn). I can't emphasise enough how excited I am about this site!!!! You see I have about 500 or so plastic bags that I've been hording under my kitchen sink for God knows how long. I don't like to through them out and try to recycle them whenever I can. Well you use approximately 50 plastic bags to make one medium sized tote. Now how great is that? I have my first bag already lined up and ready to be plarned...
There's also a pattern for a plastic bag babies bib on the site. Too Clever!!! Also check out this Divine hand bag crocheted out of plastic bags and strips of denim. The possibilities are endless....

Flashback Friday

Angela over at Three Buttons has come up with this fantastic idea... Flashback Friday. Every Friday you post a pre 1985 picture with yourself in it and say a little tit bit about it. Here is my first picture.....It was taken in 1984 when I was just a wee lase. I can still remember drying myself in front of that old fire to this day. I can't remember the amount of times that I bent over and burnt my bum on it when I was drying my feet though, too many, I lost count. My mum was/is so clever, she made all of our clothes back then, even this little outfit that I have on.

Have a Happy Weekend Everyone!!!!

Oh So Proud

O.K, O.K... I know that I've already showed everyone my latest creation, but I just couldn't help myself. This morning when I dressed my little princess for the day she just looked too cute. Here she is sitting outside in her new apron... And as you can tell I'm oh so proud!!!
Yes, she's holding a packet of cough lollies as everyone (and I mean everyone) in my neck of the woods has the dreaded flu (sigh). I'm definately over the flu this year, it's way too over rated.
My mum rang this morning after checking out my blog (she lives over 500km's away so couldn't see it in the flesh) to give me a bit of helpful advice to finish off the back of the apron better. She suggested that I curve the corners up near where it fastens at the back... What a great idea! Thanks Mum.

Wee Little Apron

I've been thinking lately how great it would be if I had some little aprons that I could put on my princess to protect her clothes a bit more now that she is exploring the world on all fours and getting absolutely filthy. So today after work I decided to design my own pattern... I know, I was a bit scared at first too but it was so easy!!!I made it out of the brown/chocolate corduroy that I had left over from the overalls that I made yesterday. I put pink binding around the edges and then decided that it needed embellishing so I added a felt flower applique to the bottom right.

I made it adjustable at the back so that she doesn't grow out of it too quick as she does everything else from the store. Isn't it just sweet how it tappers up at the back? I just love it!!

On another note.... Everyone should really go check out Ric-Rac's blog!! She has made these really funky bangles out of old plastic knitting needles. I'm desperate to give it a go but have to few plastic needles to waste any. I think that I might have to take her advice and check out the local Op Shop for some bargains...

I hope everybody had a fantastic day. Until next time :0)

It's A Start

My little princess is sick today with the flu so we both have decided to stay home. I've had a chance to make a start at those overalls that I've been wanting to make. A great tip that my mum taught me when I first started making clothes from patterns is to trace around the size of the pattern that you want using baking paper. That way you aren't wrecking your pattern if you want to use it again later on down the track. I always leave an extra 1cm of baking paper around the pattern when I pin it to the fabric. This makes it easier when I'm cutting out the fabric. Here is my pattern all cut out using baking paper.....I love this pattern!!! It's so easy to understand and it sews up super quick. I'm already on the home stretch to finishing my overalls and it's only been 2 hours since I started. My only hold up is that I've run out of press studs. 4 more studs to go and I'll be finished.... I'll leave the big reveal for when they are completely finished. In the mean time..... I've been anxiously checking my mail box daily waiting for my Doll Quilt to arrive from the swap. I sent my quilt on the 11th of this month so hopefully it should reach it's destination (New York City)any day now. Here is a sneak peak at what my quilt label looked like (it's on the back of the quilt)....

Latest Accomplishments....

O.K. as promised I've posted heaps and heaps of pictures of some my completed projects and some of my works in progress....

First up I have a knitted duck and lemon beanie. The duck is a pressy for a girl friend who has just had a baby, it has a rattle inside and the ribbon is sewn down so hopefully it will be baby proof. The lemon beanie is also for her....

I've also made her some little crochet booties and a matching bib. As you can tell I bought a lot of the yellow wool. It's just so super soft, perfect for the little ones.

Next pics are of 2 quilts that I'm in the middle of. They're made out of a heap of the scraps that I had in my stash. The first one only has to be quilted and then binded. As you can see from the second pic, I recycled some old bread bags for the back of this quilt. I've come to a screaming hault with the 2nd quilt (the photo is of the back side of the quilt). I'm unsure as to what I'm going to back it with... I'm thinking maybe recycled bread bags like the first one to keep with the scrappy/recycled theme. What do you all think?

Here's a sneak peak of some fabric that I purchased from the local fabric shop last week. I'm going to make a nine patch single bed quilt with it for my little princess for Xmas. I just love the purple fabric with the turtles on it.... Too Cute!!!!

I'm really loving this gorgeous purple pj fabric. I purchases this adorable little pj pattern a couple of days ago and I've decided to make a pair of pj's for one of my girl friends daughter for her first b'day. It's a month away so I have plenty of time.

I picked the next pattern up about 7 months ago from my local fabric shop with the intention of making oodles and oodles of these cute overalls and so far I've only managed to make 2 pairs, both out of polar fleece. The next pair that I'm going to make will be made out of this rich chocolate corduroy, the perfect colour for little babies that are crawling around and getting dirty.
Well I'm really going to be busy for the next couple of weeks now aren't I??? I can't wait to get started!!!!

I know, I know, I know.... It makes me look young, doesn't it? The hairdresser told me that fringes are making a come back. I still think that I look pretty funny!!! Like I said before.... It WILL grow on me.

SO BUSY!!!!!

Hi to everyone out there. I have a thousand apologies to give you all!!! I've been absolutely flat out over the last week that I haven't had a chance to post, not even once.

You see it's school holidays here in NSW and I offered to take my 12yr old sister for a week, that was on Sunday (last week). So I have been trying to keep her busy and entertained, which hasn't been as easy as I thought it would with a full time job, a husband and a 10mth old daughter. Don't get me wrong, I've been having a blast! We've been watching movies, going shopping, staying up late, cooking, playing board games etc,etc... The consequence of having all this fun is that some things have had to fall by the wayside for a while and my blog, unfortunately, was one of them.

I did get a chance to finish my Doll Quilt for the swap this week. I put it in the post on Wednesday. Hopefully my swap partner will get it within the next week or so, she lives in New York so it will take a bit longer than usual Aussie post (obviously).

My sister and I went to an amazing hairdresser in Dubbo yesterday and got our hair washed, cut and styled which was really nice for a change. I can't remember the last time that I did that (sigh). I now have a fringe again, after about 12yrs of not having one. It feels SO funny but I'm loving it and I'm sure that it won't take long to get used to.

On another note... While I've been slacking off my sister over at Bliss...by luv Abby has been doing some amazing stuff. She has made another pair of gorgeous Debbie Bliss bootees. You should really go check her out, she's got some great links. She also has some really yummy recipes and she always posts great pictures.

I can't wait to get back into the swing of it all after my week off! I'll be posting again tonight so make sure you pop by! I have loads of pictures of finished projects and some pictures of some works in projects. I'll also put a pic on of my new fringe for all of those curious ones out there.

Great Links

I know that I'm a day late with those great links that I promised, but it's better late then never. You see my mum has come to town for a quick visit (1 night) to drop my baby sister off for school holidays. Seen as though she lives almost 600km's away the visits are few and far between, unfortunately. So please forgive me but I decided that it was more important to savour every moment of her visit before posting on my blog.

Now lets get to business....

The first cab off the rank of great links would have to be a little beauty that I found on corrie's blog which is a free knitting pattern by the famous Jean Greenhowe for the most adorable Rainbow Baby.

Next we have a link to a very talented lady from Melbourne Australia, it's Joanne. She makes the most amazing cards, really worth a look.

As some of you may have noticed by the new button in my side bar, I have joined the ranks of yet another blog group... The Pincushion Challenge!!! What you do is make a Pincushion to match the theme on the blog and send an email of the finished cushion to the blogs host, it's then posted on the blog, kinda like the tie one on apron challenge but with Pincushions instead.

O.K. then I found this blog called Ric-Rac. Jodie is the creator of this fantastic blog. She has this great link to the Scrap Bag Challenge. I'm definitely going to join this one! You have to design a 16" cushion using the Chocolate Lollipop range of fabric, the entries are then judged and the winner of the challenge receives $150 worth of this wonderful fabric. Entries close 31st August so you have plenty of time to check it out.

I hope that everyone finds at least one of these links as helpful and inspiring as I have.
Happy reading!!!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #24 - Give yourself a foot bath, finishing off with a pedicure. Your feet will love you for it.

Sock Progress

I've still been slowly knitting away at those socks that I started on Saturday. I'm practically on the home stretch of the first one now. I'm pasted all of the hard parts, I hope, only smooth sailing from here.

It's really hard taking a picture of your own foot, I hope you get the idea. I'm absolutely loving these socks!!! They feel so good on and are just the perfect length, about 8" up my leg. All that's left to do is about another 100 rounds of knit and then the toe. Who would of thought that knitting socks would be so much fun...

I've got some really great links to some fantastic blogs that I'll have to share with everyone tomorrow so don't forget to pop by.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #24 - Organise a get together with your closest friends.The most important ingredient in finding happiness is friends (and family).

Doll Quilt Update

Hi everyone!!! This is just a quick post to let everyone know how my Doll Quilt is going for the swap. As you can see I'm almost done...

All that's left to do is hand sew the back of the binding and put on a label. Seen as though I'm in the early group (my quilt must be posted by the 12th July) I'm finishing just in the nick of time.

I hope that all you other swapers out there are having just as much fun as me with your Doll Quilts. It won't be long and we'll be admiring the handy work of our fellow swappers. I can't wait!!!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #23 - Follow the advice of Eleanor Roosevelt: "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift."

Slowly But Surely

Yes... I'm still knitting away at those socks that I started on Saturday. I'm nearly up to the heal in my first one! Because these socks are knitted in a sport weight yarn (very fine, like a 4 or 5 ply) they seem to be taking a long time. I'm absolutely loving the way it's knitting up with thin chocolate stripes, who would've thought. I got DH to do a bit of modeling for me to let everyone else see how this gorgeous yarn knits up.

I told you, isn't it just divine!! Here's what the sock looks like without the model. Lovely stripes of chocolate brown unevenly spread out over the pattern, I just love it...

It's the easiest pattern, just knit 2 purl 2 round and round and round. I'm yet to read the instructions for the heal but hopefully they're just as easy.

I have to let everyone know this gorgeous bootee pattern that I found on Kylie's blog. She left me a comment a couple of days ago so I went and checked her out. OMG she has the most adorable blog, really worth a look. There's heaps of great projects on there, plus links to some really fantastic patterns.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #22 - Don't expect people to accept you despite your faults. Address them. You'll like yourself more, too.