I should have been sewing...

I should have been sewing the other day, & getting ready for the Sussex St Neighbourhood House Mother"s Day Market (on this Sunday).
But instead,  I made a model of a WW2 Enigma machine!

Birthday sewing

My niece Miss M was born on my birthday 13 years ago. I asked her mother for some birthday present ideas... When she told me Miss M loves fancy cushions & pillows I knew what to do.
A quick trip to Spotlight after work ( ok, not really that quick because I did get distracted by the 20c craft clearance table!)- yielded some gorgeous fabrics in the prefered colours of purple and aqua, plus some grey/ white/ black/ silver for contrast. None of which came from the standard furnishing/ upholstery section! But I think they turned out ok!!!

Tie dye - the not so good result

When I unwrapped the still dripping wet fabric, it all looked fantastic. But then I had to leave it to drip dry - first mistake, the colour ran to the ends of the fabric.
Then the second boo boo - I used the old clothes horse, and the plastic is a bit cracked, so  the dripping wet fabric ended up with rust marks on it.
THEN I followed the instructions, from the packet and double checking online - and washed the fabric in hot water to supposedly set the dye. But instead all the lovely colours washed straight down the drain, leaving only the rust marks - of course! Bugger! The only minor conselation is that I didn' t wash the 2 t shirts, so I will iron them on hot instead to see if that sets the dye. Fingers crossed!

Tie dye time!

I found a tie dye kit for $6 at cheap shop a few weeks ago, and bought a second kit yesterday so I could decant the dye and mix my own colours. The kit comes with only 3 colours - labelled as fushia, yellow and turquoise. I know they should blend together as they soak into the fabric, but I wanted a bit more control over the colous.

I decented the powdered dye into some other containers, then mixed my own shades of green, orange and purple. I only half filled the bottles and am amazed how much dye I still have. The squeezy drip bottles actually work really well, with hardly any mess - unlike the spray dye I used a few months back, which necessitated the use of a cardboard box " spray booth" and did not spray at an even rate ( but I do love the range of colours,and the scarves and necklaces I made with the dyes!)
I had overlocked the edges of some white fabric ready to make some scarves, and also had 2 white t shirts bought on sale at Rivers a while back. All received the colour treatment!
Now I just have to wait - probably until tomorrow- for the dye to soak in. I still have plenty of mixed ( water added & ready to use) and powdered dye left, wondering what else I can colour?

Dye kit made up & powdered dye stored in little pots.

 Trying some " shibouri" style twisting and folding.

Waiting for the dye to soak in, 6-8 hours according to the instructions. Not sure if I can wait that long!

 Rainbow on a stick! Looks almost good enough to eat!

Melbourne Maker Fair

We went to the first Melboune Maker Fair about 4 years ago, when 3D printing was just starting to appear. By the time the next fair came around - last month, 3D printing has really taken off. We were totally amazed by the array of 3D printed items at this year's fair.
The elephant has moving legs and trunk - and was printed all in one go, no assembly required! The dalek is hollow and had a mni motor inserted so it could move across the table.
How cool are the mini vases/ planters in the first photo? They were made by a " Geek girl" outfit, who focus on getting girls intetested in STEM subjects/ programming/ making.
I love the translucent green vase, and commented on how it was similar to one I saw on the ABC's " Bespoke" tv series last year- turns out it was basically the same one, the team who created the vase/ light fitting had a 4 minute spot on the tv show!

3D printed mini vases/planters

Exterminate!

3D printer in action

Green vase/light shade 

By the sea shore pt 2

Some more sea side photos, love the pincushion hakea flowers.  I wonder who made the footprints, a bandicoot maybe?

She sells sea shells ...by the sea shore

We have been to the beach a couple  of times of late - Port Melbourne for a fish & chip dinner one night, then Torquay for Easter. Since I was about 4 years old we have spent all but one or two Easter weekends in Torquay.  So you think I would have grown out of filling my pockets with shells as I walk along the beach

But no, I just can't resist pocketing a few beauties!

But I didn't buy any of these, seen at the Queenscliffe op shop garage sale Easter Monday.