The Flowerpress Brooch Swap - In Technicolour

To tell you the truth, I was a little bit nervous when I signed up for Susie's fantastic Flowerpress Brooch Swap.

You see, I really only make one type of brooch at the moment.... and I've made lots and lots and lots of them over the last two years since that very first accidental felty one.

I was a bit worried that my partner would have seen all of the flower brooches that I've made, and not wanted one, and then I was puzzled as to what on earth else I could make?

But then I breathed a sigh of relief when I received my swap partner....

I'm about 99.9% sure that she doesn't read my blog, and won't see this before her brooch arrives.


But to top things off, she also made a flower brooch for her partner (which of course, I've now concluded to mean that she would also love a flower brooch).... oh, and it also doubles as a hair clip as it has a brooch finding and a clip on the back (double duty accessory).

I was having trouble choosing a colour scheme, so I went with technicolour....


I think it's the perfect thing to brighten up these cold grey days at the moment.


I posted it on Monday, but I'm pretty sure it's probably stuck in some sort of ash cloud delay somewhere on it's way to NZ.

I really hope she likes it.

Thanks so much for organising such a super fun swap Susie!

Behind and Belated

Sunshine

A little while ago, I played along in Trash's As You Like It swap.....
The premise of the swap was that you gave your partner six words, and they were to use those words for your swap.

Sunshine

My swap partner was the ever so talented and crafty Moogs Mum.....and lets just say that her parcel totally put mine to shame!

My words were: Popsicles, Spring, Sparkle, Technicolour, Magic and Sunshine

Popsicle & Technicolour - I totally cannot believe that she found me a fabric popsicle!

Each piece of the parcel was individually packed and labelled with one of my keywords.....

..... and attached with some pretty lace.

Sparkle (Yarn), Spring (Tulip Cards), and Magic (Chocolate)

Thankyou sooooo much Moogsmum (and sorry it's taken me so long to post the pics)! Now I think I might have some of that chocolate for brekkie.

Why

Why does my cat get to have all the fun?

PS - Have you heard about the Stitched Postcard Swap? Sign ups close tomorrow, so get your skates on and sign up!

A Flute and a Hoot

Amanda finally received her swap apron in the mail this week, so now I can do the big reveal.

I had to be careful not to chop off the poor pussycat's ears when I chopped into the tea towel, so I added a fabric section at the top to lengthen the apron.

After the dilemma I was having about finding some co-ordinating fabric in the stash for the binding, I actually decided to sort through the huge plastic container full of fabric strips that I've previously pre-cut.

Where I managed to find the perfect complemetary coloured binding strips.

You see, there are some advantages to living in a house that is overflowing with fabric....

Parliament

A Parliament arrived in the letterbox yesterday.... but thankfully not that sort of parliament!

I'm doing a little swap with Amanda, and my gift is these super-gorgeous teeny-tiny little owl pins. The detail is truly amazing to see up close. They're far too beautiful to use as sewing implements, so I'm thinking that they're going to herald the official beginning of my collection of beautiful tiny things to fill out my printers tray.


Thanks for all the lovely messages yesterday - I'm hoping to get some answers later today.... fingers crossed.

PS - If you like my little owlie pins, then pop on over to Krafty Panda, because you could win some yourself!

Myrtle the Turtle

Meet Myrtle* - this amazing little creature arrived at my house yesterday. When I signed up for the pincushion swap, I would never have imagined that I could have received such a perfect pressie, in all my favourite colours!

Christy from Little Betty Designs has crocheted an absolute masterpiece for me. I'm sure everyone knows how much I truly appreciate the art and skill of crochet, because I've failed miserably at trying to learn it myself.

I don't think I want to stick pins in Myrtle just yet in case she is ruined. I think she'll be joining the gaggle of merry critters that live in my bookshelf instead.

Christy also sent me a lovely little crochet brooch - the perfect accessory for autumn. Thanks so much Christy and Kate!

* When my siblings and I were very little, we had a babysitter named Myrtle, so of course we called her 'Myrtle the Turtle' (nothing else rhymes with Myrtle - right?)..... as soon as I saw my little turtle, I just knew she was a Myrtle.

SwapPIN'

I'm late, I'm late.... for a very important date!

After all the busy-ness of last week, I only managed to finish my pin cushion on the weekend, so I'll be on the doorstep of the post office first thing thismorning to send it on its way.

I'm doing the 'big reveal' early, as I'm quite sure that my swapee has absolutely no inkling that I was her swapper.

After stumbling at my first gung-ho attempt at this, I decided to tone down my crazy patchwork with a bit of soothing green. It was still missing a little something.... so some extra random stitching was required to get it over the line. In the end, it's a very super simple, little pin pillow design.

I've packaged up with some little pins and yummy chocolate. I hope my swap partner likes it!


A huge huge thankyou must go out to Kate who put in so much time and effort to organise such a wonderful (and rather gi-normous) swap.

Trashs Rainbow Swap

A little while back I signed up for Trashs Rainbow Swap.... and then of course, promptly forgot about the entire thing until it was the last week (story of my life it seems).

I was a couple of days late sending mine, but as I was sending it to the UK, it only really made me one day late. I don't think it has arrived yet, and I'm not sure whether the recipient actually reads my blog, so I can't post any photos just in case. I wouldn't like to spoil the surprise.

Of course, I can show you what arrived in my mailbox on Friday. Even after sending my swap package, I then promptly forgot that I would also be receiving a package....deeeerrrrrr. So when opened the mailbox and found a parcel from the UK, I was a little perplexed. I was sure I hadn't been online shopping again, so what could it be?

Imagine my delight to find all of these lovely crafty goodies AND chocolate (Green and Blacks my favoturite)!
Kitty from Kitty's Bloggy Bits sent me all of these lovely craft supplies in all the colours of the rainbow, and if you read my blog, then you'll realise just how much I love colour.

Kitty also included seven sweet little handmade christmas stockings which are going to look so cute on my christmas tree. I think I might fill them up with lollies so my nephews can find them and eat them.
The two boxes of smarties disappeared Friday afternoon when my two eldest nephews came home from school and spotted them on the table.

Thanks so much Kitty!

Une baguette pour une belle dame

J'espère vraiment que Babelfish me donne les traductions françaises correctes - je pourrais être copiant et collant n'importe quoi !

Translation - I really hope that Babelfish is giving me the correct French translations - I could be copying and pasting anything!

My beautiful beret from Sandrine arrived on Monday, but my package took a little longer to arrive, so I haven't been able to show it until now (we decided to keep the swap a suprise).

It's another lovely Baguette bag (keeping with the French theme of course)

Sandrine requested a colour theme of red, black, white and grey which was lots of fun, as they're colours that I don't usually use.

I found a lovely grey wool fabric that I used for the outer gusset and the strap. It was lovely to work with, (after being interfaced) and it made sewing around the curve much easier.

I think I can see more red, black, white and grey on the horizon....

Merci Ravissant Femme

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous? (Hello! How are you)

Well, that's the extent of my memories from Year 7 French class at Hamilton High School.

Pensez-vous de mon nouveau béret? (Do you like my new beret?)

I cheated with this one and used an online translator.

Anyhow, enough of dreaming about living in France, and speaking fluent French. I just did a little swap with Sandrine from Histoire de Soie, and I received this absolutely beautiful cherry red hand felted beret. I've already taken it on a little test run while I was out and about today.

... and here's a nice blurry shot of me wearing the beret (artwork by Tinniegirl in the background). I need to get a robot arm that doesn't shake for the self portraits.

Sandrine makes absolutely wonderful hats, berets, and headpieces which you can find in her Etsy shop, or if you check out her blog, you'll find all of the information that you need on upcoming markets.

Thanks so much Sandrine - this was a really fun swap!

Snailblazer Swap Goodies

It's been a bit of a crazy week, but I'm finally sending out a huge thankyou to all the lovely girls who participated in the Snailblazer Swap.



I received such an amazing array of goodies - there are some extremely talented crafters out there in blogland!

• Mini Tote Bag from Xena
• Hair Accessories from Anna
• Pen and Pen Holder from Vickie

• Tissue Holder from Sandra
• Frog Magnet from Nikki
• Necklace from Amanda

• Sunglasses case from Fran
• Zippered Purse from Aimee
• Felt Flower Brooch from Michelle

• Handmade Cards from Tania

Every single item is going to be put to very good use and I'm keeping them all for me (selfish but true)!

I'm even going to keep Tania's beautiful handmade cards - they're far too gorgeous to write on and give away, so I'm thinking about some type of multiple frame where I can display them all together, maybe with a dark coloured matting so that they really pop.

Oh, and this is what I made (and forgot to take a photo of) - A mixed fibre and bead brooch, and a crazy stitched keyring. Thanks to Tania for emailing me a photo - doh!

A huge huge thankyou to Cass for your magnificent organising and distributing skills.

Sweet parcels in the mail

I arrived home lastnight to find two parcels waiting for me squeezed into my little mailbox (I might need to do something about that).

I was the super lucky winner of the Selina's Vintage mystery giveaway. Well, the mystery parcel included vintage fabrics, vintage pillowcases, chenille, beautiful trims and buttons, and the cutest magnetic postcard for my fridge.

Thankyou so much Selina.... I'm imagining some gorgeous creations as I type!

.... and in the other parcel was the fabulous 1983 teatowel in brand new pristine condition from Jannimary, who won my embroidered doiley giveaway.

Thanks so much Janice!

I'd better get back to working on my Snailblazer swap goodies.... I'm running late (and blaming the horrible lurgy).

Better Late than Never

You may remember this fabric from a little while ago....

I finally finished Sharons apron and popped it in the post so it was ready and waiting for her when she arrived back in Melbourne.

I tested out a new idea this time - I've used snaps to make the neck strap adjustable.

I can see lots of yummy baked treats in this aprons future!

Late for a very important date!

A long long long time ago (I think it was August), I organised to do a swap with Sharon. I've been on the lookout for the perfect fabric in black / grey / neutral tones that isn't too floral or fussy.

I just so happened to find this one which will be perfect for an apron. I should have finished it by now, but my normal procrastinating ways took over.

Anyhow, the most exciting part of the story is that I'm swapping my gift for a gorgeous pair of Sharon's handmade earrings. But even more exciting news is that Sharon has now launched her Silver Soiree Jewellery Collection and is having a launch giveaway just in time for christmas!

Just head on over to Sharons Handmaiden Blog and check out all the details.

Swapsies

All of my swap parcels have now been received so I can post some photos......

Here are the pincushions that I made for Fi and Michelle.... they ended up being a little larger than I originally intended......

This is the apron that I made for Hollie as a thankyou for the gorgeous beret that she knitted for me and the Hokey Resin Hairclips.

I also made a little matching potholder.....

A great big thankyou and some practicing

First of all, I would like to say a great big thankyou to everyone who left me a message regarding my Friday night post......

The fantastic thing is that most generous crafty peeps are already registered as organ donors and those who weren't have now signed up online. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart (and lungs). I've been laughing to myself all weekend imaging what my oxygen bottle would look like with a knitted or crocheted cover.....hilarious!

I've been practicing my knitting over the last week....I used some of the yarn that Cath sent me and I practiced changing colour, leaving the ends loose, knitting the ends in, and using 2 colours at once. It was fun to see what happened without worrying about wrecking something. I even remembered how to cast off and I didn't have to refer to the internet for help.....yippee!

I'm off to the post office now to post three little parcels.....I can't reveal anything yet. Have a happy Monday.