Boring, but useful...

Ok this post is not mind-blowingly creative or anything - but it is super-handy!!

My overlocker is used a lot (and probably not serviced as often as it should be given its usage!!) so every now and then I try to give it a vacuum out with my Dyson hand-held vac, but sometimes even that is not enough.

So when 'the guy who lives here' said he was headed to Bunnings I asked him to pick me up some "canned air"!

Dodgy iPhone pic of a boring can on a dreary day - all the good stuff from me!!

He was, of course, happy to oblige though he was a little put off by the cost - about $15 a can apparently.

I gave my machine a good spray with this (it sprays air at high pressure) and was amazed at how well it worked. I almost wished I had a before and after pic to show you - though you'd have seen the disgraceful amount of fluff in my overlocker then.

Anyway - like I said, boring but useful.

Give it a go.

Passing it on

I'm a bit behind in my blogging - I still have lots to show you from SIT but haven't yet taken pics of all my goodies. I will have to reclaim some of the things, such as pieces of fabric, from my girls first.... fabric hoarding, I mean love, seems to be a hereditary thing.

In the meantime here's a project I did with my niece on the weekend.

For her birthday in May I offered her either a gift made by me (bag, cushion, clothing of her choice) or the opportunity to make something together.

To my delight she chose the latter.

She chose the fabric from my stash and teamed it with some lovely lightweight denim that we used for the backing.

Then I taught her a la Sheridan/Lotta (scroll down to see) how to do a fabric stencil on the front.

She then sewed up an envelope back for the cushion and was amazed at how easy it was.
It's a great beginners project.
Ruby is ten and could easily do all the sewing by herself as it's only a series of straight lines.

She did a great job and as you can see, is pretty delighted with the result, which is now positioned proudly on her bed.

Need a good school holiday project?
This one is a winner.

We came, we saw, we conquered Canberra!!

Sew It Together (SIT) is an annual crafty bloggers get together for crafters from all around Australia, and even sometimes from as far afield as New Zealand.

This year we all flew/drove/walked or ran to our nation's capital, Canberra.

A tranquil trip up ready for a busy weekend

The weekend involves lots of elements - from a shopping trip on the Friday that included a visit to the gorgeous Bison ceramics studios and Addicted to Fabric...

Just some of the amazing collection available at Bison

Everywhere you looked there was an explosion of colour

Then it was off to Shop Handmade - a treasure trove of handmade goodness where we had time to chat to other lovely ladies while indulging in some bubbly and macarons.

Always a pleasure to spend some time with this clever and fun lady

I was advised to try the Salted Caramel macaron - and wow! They were gone in a flash.

On Saturday, after a refreshing run around the lake with Donna, Sheridan and Susie, (yes that is frost on my headband!!  It was -5 degrees when we started, even the water bubblers were frozen over); it was on to the crafting!

The 'Cool Running' bunch!! 

There were sock owl making workshops, crochet for beginners, crocheting granny squares and lots and lots of market stalls with fabric and wool galore for sale.
Oh and some stitching and chatting of course!

Sheridan is the lady who, together with her right hand girl, Donna, makes it happen, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Despite what her badge says, yes she is!

Over the three years of SIT gatherings I have met and become great friends with a number of wonderful crafty ladies, such as Tanya; 

discovered rare treasures, such as people who live local to me (very local in fact!) like Wendy; 

I've met in person for the first time, girls with whom I have chatted online for many years, including Cass, Kylie, Becky, Lily, Jennifer, Ingrid, Sara and Belinda to name a few.

I've made new friends such as Gillian, Megan, Anna, Susie, Hilary, Amy and many more.

This year I was really pleased to finally meet up with Sophie, who was every bit as lovely as I expected.

I was also thrilled to get to chat with Maryanne and Caroline of the blog Sew Together, after I had been following their progress on Project Run and Play and oohing and aahing over their French recycled outfit and adorable pink dresses.

and I spent some time sock-owl-making with the delightful Claire who is always good fun.

These were made by Claire - she's so quick at them!

After dinner out and then more crafting on Saturday night we retired for the evening - though those of us at the YHA had a rude 2am fire alarm wake-up call!

Sunday saw us head to a local hall for a lesson in fabric stencilling courtesy of Sheridan using the skills she picked up in Palm Springs (did you know she went there a-crafting with Lotta Jansdotter and Leisl Gibson - jealous much!).

Lots of pretty colours lined up ready to use

Renae went dotty..

Sarah came up with some great designs including this one...

Bronwyn got clever with colour...

Donna did these gorgeous, sharp feathers...

and Wendy of course came up with multiple designs that were layered and blended, including the birds flying north that I love! (smARTY pants!!)

Cas also did some fantastic pears that I didn't get a pic of - hopefully she will blog one in the next few days so go and take a look.

There are loads of sponsors who provided things for our goodie bags and there are shopping and swap items and prizes to show you so stay tuned for more...

Lovely Annie

Annie has settled in nicely.

Isn't she beautiful?

She was one of my prizes from Cathie's afternoon tea. Created by the very talented Leonie.

What is it about this family - so talented!

Not I!!

Today was "Little Red Hen" day at school.

The girls have been studying about farms and where food comes from and it culminated in a day today where they dressed up as their favourite character from the story and made bread.

Of course they came home and told me they both wanted to be different characters....

Farmyard friends

Our girls love a good dress up day and embrace them wholeheartedly, as you can see.

So what did I do;

Cat - Fake fur overlocked around the edge then gently hand-stitched to a black long-sleeved T so it can be taken off later.

Tail made from polar fleece and fake fur.
Ears are felt stitched onto a headband - quick and easy.

Then we added a bow around her neck, and her tail as she requested, black boots and leggings and some face paint.

Furry tails all round

For the dog;

I traced an existing jacket and made a pattern for a loose-fitting top she could slip on and off over her head.

Added a slot for the tail to poke through, which has a wire coat hanger in it to give it shape and elastic for around her waist.

Spots are fake fur overlocked then machine sewn on.

Ears are polar fleece and felt sew onto a headband.

Collar is a woven fake leather I found at Spotlight with a black felt circle that actually has her name stitched onto it in hot pink.

There are two jean buttons with stars embossed on them on either side of the collar tag and it has a snap at the back for easy removal if required.

And of course the obligatory face paint and some leggings and boots.

Let's dress up!

The girls told me they were really comfortable all day in these outfits and they certainly beamed when they put them on.

Cake for a cause

The lovely and generous Cathie of Melbourne Epicure hosted an afternoon tea for the Cancer Council of Victoria today, and if the cause wasn't enough to get you through the door, the spread Cathie put on certainly would be.

A small amount of the delicacies on offer throughout the afternoon

Cathie does everything just so beautifully, from the gorgeous wire display racks as seen above to the petite biscuits perched on the edge of all the tea cups.

I was also lucky enough to win a couple of the raffle prizes and came home with a beautiful cushion featuring 'Annie' a gorgeous lady created by Leonie.  

You can see versions of 'Annie' being printed on Leonie's blog here.  

It was too dark to photograph it when I got home but will do so soon.

Thanks to Leonie for donating this beauty.

It was great to catch up with lots of lovely crafty ladies who travelled from near and far.

There were a few noticeable absences but hopefully they will be there next time.

Cathie was hoping to beat the amount raised last year and if the number of people in attendance was anything to go by I would say she smashed it. (I'll keep you posted on that one).

I am sure if you wanted to make a donation in the name of Melbourne Epicure to support Cathie and her efforts today it would be most welcome.

Well done Cathie!

Variation on a theme...

I know I've been showing you a couple of these lately but when you are on a good thing - stick to it I say! 

(I've actually made quite a few more than I have shown you, so be thankful for that!)

Lara has been getting into them too and made a couple with a rolled hem while we were away - so when I had to whip one up in a hurry and didn't want to fiddle with the bias bound edges, I too rolled the hem.

 I chose to use a strong contrasting colour for a 'pop' of colour and I love the finished result.

This pic is more true to the actual colour than the one below.

Then I ironed on this cute deer from Crafty Mama's for the finishing touch.

The birthday girl - and her mum - were very happy with it.

Terrible colour - but you get the idea...