Knitty necklace

Have you seen the "seven sisters six loops" knitted necklace on Ravelry and artemisadornments.com (posted in 2011)? I really like the idea of knitted jewellery - kind of in between a necklace and a scarf. I saw this one (featured from etsy) in "Knitsy" a free downloadable knitting magazine from the UK -



Love the colours, and when I saw it it reminded me about the Ravellry one, and got me thinking... So I found my double pointed needles, got out a knitting book to re learn how to make i-cord.



The yarn is acrylic, bright multi shades of green. I only made 3 loops, 6 or 7 seemed to bulky for me. Love the colours. It got a lot of compliments at the craft show!
So now I am trying a few other colours-




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Off to the craft fair!

I headed into the craft fair yesterday afternoon after work. I had a small list of specific things to look for- a yellow fat quarter for a sewing project; some nice bright washi tape in yellow, green, orange and blue; some new stamp pads to replace my nearly 20 year old ones which are pretty faded now!; and some jewellery bits & pieces for a lovely girl at work to make some necklaces with ( after she admired some of mine, and I told her I made it from bits & pieces from the craft show!).
I found plenty of washi tape-


Ok, so the music, keyboard and birds were not on my list, but I figured that last year I bought some Elvis fabric to make a bag for my son's piano teacher for Christmas, so I will make something (not sure what yet!) with the music themed washi tape this year! And the birds- I just had to get it! I'm sure to find plenty of opportunities to "put a bird on it"!

If you are going to the craft show & looking for washi tape, I have to recommend stall C26 "the paper craft hub". $3 a roll, and they have all the washi on a brilliant display, so you can see all the rolls, and even have sample tags for most colours. I bought some for $2.50 each/ 5 for $10 at another stall first ( maybe art stamps? Forgot to take note of the name, but it was in row A or B. Had to dig through a tray of tape to find colours. Then when I got to "Craftqueen" where I had intended yo buy the washi, having seen the amazing range on their website, I was very disappointed to see that you had to dig through a deep tub of random colours (at $3.50 each too) - so I went back to the paper craft hub and told the stall holder their that her washi display was head and shoulders above the rest, and bought 2 more rolls!


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Purple carrots

Spotted these purple carrots at the local IGA the other day. They are soooo very purple...


This is what my hands ( and the chopping board) look like after chopping them up-



And the water after steaming them...


But they taste good! In fact the 12 y/o reckons they taste better than the regular orange carrots, although the 9 y/o disagrees and only eats the orange ones. They even stained the other carrots as they are cooking, and even when stored in the fridge, the cooked purple carrots stained the cooked potatoes! I think they would be great for dyeing fabric or wool!- if you like purple!

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My new favourite snack

We are big on cheese, dry bickies and dip as a quick snack in our house. Especially good for an easy afternoon tea for last minute visitors ( ie. inviting friends over as you walk out the gate after school!) and every now & then a new flavour dip appears in the shops & catches my eye. This is our new favourite, it is very very moreish! Especially good with Turkish bread.


Spent a lovely day on Thursday catching up with friends who are living in Taipei. They loved the dip too, one of the many things they really miss from home is hommus - they haven't been able to find any over there!

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Skirt sewing

Have you seen those lovely skirts with the ribbing waistbands, sold at craft markets & online? They look so comfy, & knowing how comfortable my patchwork jersey wrap skirt is to wear, I have been trying to work out how to make one. Turns out the style is called a "yoga waist" skirt. Tried a net search once I figured out what I was looking for! I found some good tips on the "sew mama sew" and " crafty mamas" blogs.
I used my old faithful A-line skirt pattern, tried on one of my skirts, measured how far up I could get it on with the zip open, traced off a new pattern and gave it a whirl!
First time around the ribbing was a bit loose, so I unpicked the waistband & re- sewed it a bit smaller. I didn't allow extra length to turn up a hem, so just overlooked it. 2nd time around I made it a bit longer, got the waistband right first time, and am very pleaded with the result! Fabric from Rathdowne remnants.all done on the over locker bar the hem. Might add a pocket but I ran out of the matching thread & haven't got into the Coburg Sewing centre to get some more yet.

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Writing kits

My niece & nephew are heading off on a very big adventure tomorrow, so I made them each a writing/drawing kit.



Inside is a sketch book, set of coloured pencils, HB pencil, coloured biro, and some blank postcards with plenty of space for writing on. The one thing I forgot to put in was a book of stamps!



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Op Shop Doiley stash

I have been collecting - not making! doilies from Op shops for a while with the plan of using them to decorate skirts & cushions. I try to find the littlest ones, and preferably coloured. All rather autumnal tones actually!

Now I have finally played around with my a-line skirt pattern and made a yoga- waist skirt, the plan is to make more in various colours, including some doiley decoration here & there.
Sewing day today, better get a move on & hopefully have something to show for it later today!