Catching up

Looking for a photo on my iPad, I found these which I had taken on my work phone ( I was trying out the camera and comparing the photos to my phone). I attended statewide conference for Visiting Teachers in December last year, at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins. I couldn’t resist taking some photos of the gorgeous frocks on display - “The Art of Couture”, exhibition that “pays homage to Melbourne fashion icon Shirley Keon”. Beautiful! ( and the conference was good too!) 

I love how the patterns were displayed along with the dresses.

My “ new” sewing machine

Last year a friend offered me an old sewing machine, he had found it in hard rubbish a while before, and never gotten around to using/ fixing it  - “ all I know is we plugged it in to the power and it seemed the light came on!”. Turns out it was a Singer 201K machine!
I was very excited to take it, as I have been dreaming of getting a classic old machine for years! My Dad had a couple in his shed, but they were specialised shoe making machines ( which we will try and sell once life goes back to “ normal” ), so I grew up loving the look of old singer machines.
 It has taken me ages to get around to taking the machine in to see if it actually works, I was almost not game enough, in case it didn’t work, or was in really bad condition. I guess I was a bit put off after I found a 1974 singer in hard rubbish last year, which turned out to be not worth repairing.

 But once the sewing room was fixed ( involving angle grinding a channel  into the concrete floor ( outside) and LOTS of silicone sealant  inside on the floor/ wall joint!)  and everything back in place, I had a clean up, and it was time for a test drive!
At the start of the holidays I had taken the 201 in to Statewide Sewing in Coburg for a service. Roger said it was a fantastic machine in great condition, only needed a good clean and general service. He gave me some tips - like the right- left needle  threading! and  I bought some bobbins and needles.

The case is a bit damaged, I really must put some beeswax furniture polish on it!

And here she is!  Shout out to the lovely Katie over at Katie Writes Stuff, for her great vlog post on how to thread an old singer machine! I still have yet to try winding a bobbin though, that will be the next challenge!

Dream weaver...

I had so many plans these holidays, finally being able to get into my sewing room " the shack", have a sort out and get some actual sewing done! Half done quilts, cut out new jackets, not to mention a mountian of mending. I even took my "new" ( to me) machine to Roger at Statewide, to see if it was worthwhile servicing/ repairing. * more next post!*

But no, it was not to be. 

I knew there had been some rain seeping through the back wall where it meets the floor. But it was worse than I first thought. So everything is packed and piled in boxes at the " dry" end of the room. Lucky I have a travel sewing kit in the house ( needles, mini scissors, black and white cotton) in case I need to sew a button ( which I did have to do yesterdat in fact!). Because I can't get to anything else.

I have 2 knitting projects on the go, of course! 

As I had to throw my lovely carpet mat out ( lucky it is hard rubbish next week) I thought maybe this would be an opportune time to start a new craft I have been wanting to try - rug making! I had left a couple of old sheets accessible after all...

I did some research online, watched some YouTube clips, and got my eldest ( who has developed an interest in woodwork) to make me a wooden weaving " needle". Rustic yet rather lovely I think. ( pen for scale)

My first attempt started looking too bulky and floppy. 

Then I thought " what if I weave onto rope" - like my machine sewn rope bowls.

I am much happier with this version, looks more like a rug.

School holidays/ staying in...

If anyone wants me, I shall be in Melbourne.

In 1928.

Hanging out with this amazing sassy lady!

...and possibly wearing a suitable hat!

Knitting basics - crafts for crazy times

I have notice there seems to be a bit of an increased interest in craft- including cooking, making and gardening - with the social distancing measures in place during these crazy corona times. The Age today had a lovely article titled “Virtually no social life? Think Again” featuring a 5 year old playing monopoly with his 11 year old cousin via FaceTime. And another story told of the rush of sales of seedlings, with people spending time at home and looking to plant a vege patch for “ something productive” to do, as well as for food production and mental health.

Several people on our wonderful local Good Karma Network ( big shout out to the admins - all volunteers - who do an AMAZING job moderating all posts!) have been asking about knitting, crocheting, and digging sewing machines out of storage to dust them off and use them or lend them to people looking for something to do with their teens at home!

I highly recommend popping over to Pip’s lovely blog “Meet me at Mike’s” for all things crochet ( as well as some ACE recipes, craft ideas, book reviews, tips on looking after yourself and just an allround wonderful read!).


As for knitting, my journey started about 10 years ago, when I bough this book from Scavengers at the Sydney Road Festival. Casting on was the tricky bit, and even a quick online search now has come up with mainly complicated cast ons. The Spruce Crafts has a great step by step guide with photos and videos, it looks like a great resource for beginner knitters.

Along with tips from my MIL ( because trying to cast on was the but I couldn’t get until she taught me the super easy knit cast on, which I have never seen in a knitting book!) and a how-to-knit book aimed at children I found at the Coburg Library ( I still have the photocopied pages!), I finally got the hang of it. You can find various scarves, beanies, blankets and shawls documented in my blog. I have not got the time or patience to attempt a jumper or cardigan! I haven’t done any blankets for a while as they take months. I already have  about 4 shawls on the go at the moment, and not much knitting actually being done!

My first go to pattern is from the above book. I still use this pattern to make cowls ( one ball of chunky yarn usually makes a cowl and I can have a quick hand made gift made in a couple of days if I am really serious about it. I even knitted at the cinema while watching “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” because I had a birthday gift to finish!

Gosh it has been a while!

crazy crazy times at the moment, hope everyone is well, staying home and keeping safe. I have been working from home - mainly emailing schools and trying out different online meeting platforms. It has been lovely to be able see my wonderful colleagues online!

I will try and go through my photos and catch up on some posts, not that there has been very much creating going on, not by me anyway! ( more on that later!).

 Some photos I did spot on my iPad -  I have been wanting to try solid shampoo bars, I did try one but it did nothing for my hair! A lovely work colleague bought me one from Lush ( because the shop is too overly scented for me to walk into!)
It smells nice and lemony and washes really well. I was looking around the house for a container to put it in ( it is perfect for travelling as it can’t leak) when I spotted this shoe polish container. The polish had dried up, so I gave the container a good scrub, and it is the absolute perfect size for my shampoo!

catching up

Sorry for the looming gaps between posts. Still having blog issues, ended up buying a new ( second hand) phone so trying a post from it now! Luckily I still have access to all my photos! 

I can finally show some of the photos I took the day we picked up Jango. We went for a bit of a drive on the way home, via Ballan, and I finally got to have a quick wander through the lovely Mill Rose quilt shop.

So many lovely fabrics!

A whole room of liberty!

Seriously if it wasn't for the cardboard box in the corner, this would look like the cover of a book!