Five on friday – B for ..

Hello there! Time for another five on friday hosted by lovely Amy from Love made my home. My blog presence has been scarse lately. Too many soccer games and kids activities to coordinate leaves little time for blogging these days. I have been doing a fair amount of baking and crochet though so all is not lost.

This week its five Bs!

Bananas! Our neighbours left these homegrown bananas on the back deck this week. The bats were getting to them so he had to pick them early. They will ripen in a few days. I will be able to make plenty of banana bread with these.

Balls! Of lovely cotton yarn that arrived in the post today. I just love getting yarn mail and I never get tired of this colour combo. I ran out of my turquoise colour but couldn’t just order one ball of yarn could I.

Bags! My friend loved my little crochet heart zip bag so much she asked if I could make her one in her favourite colours. She is recovering from heart surgery and rather liked the appropriate design! I am half way through this one but was waiting for my yarn order to finish it. Its supposed to rain this weekend and the kids soccer games are already cancelled due to waterlogged grounds from yesterday’s deluge. I am looking forward to some crochet time curled up on the couch listening to the rain.

Bikes! We saw these amazing stunt bikers at the sunshine coast agricultural show. I was having heart failure at their death defying antics. This guy in the photo is right off his bike and suspended in mid air! Very entertaining in a heart stopping kind of way.

Bare! The veggie patch needed some attention after being abandoned since late summer. I have made good progress with the weeding and mulching. I have a fair bit to go but at least I can start planning what to grow. Last season we had great success with cucumbers, lettace, sugar snap peas and snowpeas. Courgettes were a complete disaster and red peppers were not so great. I might try carrots this time and broccolli as we get through a fair amount. Any tips on courgette growing anyone?

Thats it from me. Grab a cuppa and take a look at the other blogs joining in this week. Have a great weekend!

Five on Friday – showtime!

 

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Hello! I am once again joining in with Amy from love made my home for Five on Friday.

The annual Maleny show started today and we decided to take the day off to have some good old fashioned fun in the country. The Maleny show is a traditional agricultural show with all the things you would expect, horses, showjumping, cattle, sheepdog trials, poultry, rides, arts and crafts, cookery and preserves, and lots of food. Here are five snippets from our wonderful day.

1. The competitions were fantastic fun. My youngest daughter and I decided to enter our little projects, and between us managed to collect first second and third prizes! I was so chuffed! The competition was tough, there were some very good exhibits. Remember my crochet zip purse from last week? That received first prize in the needlework ‘gift-something useful’ section. I couldn’t believe it! Ava got third prize for her cute little pom pom hedgehog family.  My bread received second prize!

2. We enjoyed watching this horseriding stunt lady. Riding a horse normally is tricky enough for me. This is another level entirely! She even went over jumps like this!

3. The animals were amazing, we took a shine to these belted galloways. Hubby rather likes these and is tempted to have some to help keep the grass down on the 10 acres we have.

4. The poultry were great too. The cockerels were enormous! This one was very splendid.

5. With my prize winnings I treated myself to a henna tattoo. It will last a week or so. I love these indian inspired patterns, so beautiful.

Thats it from me. I would have taken more photos but we had five children with us which was a bit of a challenge! Grab a cuppa and take a look at the other bloggers joining in this week.

Pretty crochet purses

I have been a handbag girl forever, but lately I was finding it bit cumbersome, falling off my shoulder, getting in the way and just feeling too big. I needed something smaller and practical. I do love making tapestry crochet washcloths, playing around with different patterns and colours. I had the idea to make one of the washcloths into a little purse or clutch bag. I figured tapestry crochet would be great for this as it creates a nice thick and sturdy cloth.

I salvaged a zip from my stash ( a tip from my mother and grandmother, cutting zips off old wornout clothes), selected some fabric to use for a lining, and sewed it all together. Not so simple for me as I had never sewn a zip purse before and my sewing skills are certainly not of a professional nature at all.

A friend sent me a link to a youtube tutorial on how to sew a zippered purse with a lining. Hurray for youtube! I am now able to create an almost professional looking purse. There are lots and lots of tutorials on this topic so if you need help a quick youtube browse will get you started. I used this link which was very easy to follow.

I have been playing around with colours and patterns and have made a couple of purses now. I reckon they would make nice gifts.

I have also made some beads out of fimo clay to add a decorative zip pull for extra prettiness. I love fimo clay, its so versatile and easy and you can blend colours to match your projects. Jewellery made from fimo beads is very popular these days. I went into a shop the other day and a necklace made with similar clay was selling for $59!!

These purses are just big enough to get my phone, cards, cash, lipgloss and keys in. Perfect. Well, almost perfect. I have since modified the design to create a section in the lining to separate cash/coins as they become hard to find in a hurry. I have also made two separate crochet pieces for the outside of the bag, rather than one long piece folded over, as its very hard to sew in the lining and zip when its one outer piece. So much easier to make now.

Darker colours work better. With use, the white bag is not looking like these pictures any more, the white has turned a murky grey. Must put it through the wash!

Have a great week!
T x

Five on Friday

Hello again! Its been a while but I am back to join in with Amy at Love made my home for her Five on Friday blog link up. I have been busy and behind with my blog posts so what better way to catch up than with a five on friday post.

1. I have been busy with more crochet projects and have moved on from washcloths to some rather cute purses. These are great for practicing sewing skills. I was always scared of adding zips in sewing projects, but after checking out some video tutorials on youtube I am now sewing like a pro! I use these little purses instead of a handbag now, as they are just big enough to fit phone, keys, cash and cards.

2. My littlest turned 7 last month, she had a star wars themed birthday party complete with R2D2 cake made by me. It took a while to figure out how to make him but got there in the end. I am not a fan of food colours for icing but bent the rules for this one.

3. We had a fair bit of rain a couple of weeks back and one particularly wet weekend we decided to check out Wappa Dam up on the range. The overflow over the dam wall was really spectacular, as was the river flowing from it.

The walk down to the water was a little precarious with no proper footpath access.

Check out those trees growing through the middle of the river flow!

4. I baked bread this week and I have to say it is the best loaf I have ever made. Hubby and the kids said it looks like a ‘proper loaf’. Now I know they were being polite about my previous bread efforts. Big thanks to my sister for passing on the recipe.

5. You might remember I told you I had taken up mountain biking a few months back. Well I had my first proper bike injury after a fall down some rocks while biking with a friend on monday. My legs are so bruised and covered in cuts which are taking forever to heal. Not like in my younger days when things seemed to heal in a couple of days!

My legs look dirty in the photo but that is all the scratches and bruises!

Well thats my five latest happenings, I hope you all have a good weekend. Grab yourself a cuppa and check out the other blogs joining in this week.

Cutest Crochet Bunny

Hello hello! I don’t know where the time goes, it seems like no time at all since my last post  in March and now its almost May! I have been working on making a crochet Easter bunny for my daughter and managed to finish it on Good Friday.

Isn’t he sweet! He goes everywhere with my daughter. He was really easy to make, I purchased the ‘Honey Bunny’ pattern from Posie gets cosy, a lovely blog by Alicia Paulson. Her blog is very inspiring, with lots of gorgeous photos of baking, crafting and family life in her lovely cosy home. The bunny pattern was good, although I would have appreciated a few more photos just to help me check I was doing it all correctly.

The bunny took me about a week to make, crocheting here and there when I had a spare moment. I am tempted to make another one, perhaps the Lovey Lamb. I have several crochet projects on the go right now though, I think I might have to clear the decks a bit first.

Have a lovely weekend! Its raining here, has been all week, with no sign of clearing up anytime soon. Looks like a cosy crochet weekend for me 🙂

Five on friday

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Hello!!! So glad to be back here for five on friday, a blog linkup party from the lovely Amy at Love made my home.
Today its Five D’s.

D for Delicious. I treated myself to this little slice of gorgeousness. Strawberry cheesecake, gluten free, additive free, just how it should be. Made fresh from a local bakery called Homemade Bliss. I love that they use pure natural ingredients in their baking. Maybe it should be Y for Yum!

D for Dreamcatcher. Its a week of treats for me, another little gem picked up from Caloundra street markets on sunday. Beautifully made, the crochet is so intricate. I just had to squeeze it onto our bedroom wall.

D is for Dog. Or should it be N for Naughty!! She has just turned 1 and is a bit cheeky. She ran off on our morning walk this morning so she’s in the Doghouse!

D is for double crochet. I am making an easter bunny for my little one and hoping I finish it in time.

And finally, D is for Drink! My friday tipple. A chilled white wine after a busy week. Divine! (there is some left in the bottle I promise, its been in the fridge all week!)

Have a great weekend! Check out the other blogs linking up for five on friday.

Sewing your own clothes

There is something very satisfying about sewing your own clothes. Not only is it cheaper then buying clothes from the shops, it is also a lot easier than you think and quick too. The best thing about making your own clothes is you get exactly what you want. I am no sewer, and I don’t use patterns because I find them too hard to understand most of the time. I just wing it. Some would say my methods are crazy, but I will show you how you can make a pattern from an existing item in your wardrobe and sew it in an afternoon.

I went to the local fabric shop the other day and picked up a couple of fat quarters and some fabric to make a dress and a top. I am lucky to live close to the best fabric shop on the coast. The fabric designs are exquisite, its very easy to spend an hour in there browsing the shelves full of gorgeousness. The fabrics are not cheap, but good quality cotton so I don’t mind paying a bit extra for it.

I have a halter neck top that is well loved and worn, and is beginning to fade ever so slightly. I wanted to make a top in the same style in my chosen fabric. I grabbed a roll of baking paper from the kitchen, laid out my top and traced a front and back piece for my pattern.

I cut out the fabric, creating one front piece and two back pieces, as in my original top. I sewed it all together, and here it is.

Luckily the original top was a simple pattern to copy. I wouldn’t be brave enough to choose anything more fancy. This top also has no zip, so its super easy to make. Just cut and sew.

Can you believe this style of top costs $69.95 in the shops (about 37 pounds)! This one cost me $20 to make and took 2.5 hours from start to finish, including tracing and cutting the pattern and fabric. Not bad for an afternoon’s work. Maybe you can have a go at making something from your wardrobe. If you are nervous, use a cheap fabric from a bargain bin at your local store to try it out first. Good luck!
T x

Summer fun, a big trip and a new hobby

Well I took an unplanned break from blogging, 6 months! Just checked in to see when my last post was, September!! Life got in the way and pushed blogging out of the picture for a while. I have missed you all and have a lot of news to catch up on I’m sure. And what have I been doing with my time?? Well, firstly I went to the UK! A family visit was long overdue and as we didn’t have the cash for us all to go, I was given a leave pass from hubby and took off by myself for two wonderful weeks.

Newstead Abbey

 

Autumn leaves

When you live overseas, you see your homeland in such a different light. I was taking pictures like a tourist, appreciating the old architecture and the greenness of the countryside. So beautiful. I am sad to say that Newstead Abbey, pictured above, has gone a bit downhill in the garden area. The gardens were always a highlight as they had different sections and themes, with old walls and tunnels and a majestic pillared walkway where vines would grow alongside the lake. They have all been left to crumble away and are now sectioned off by tape. It is so sad to see. The place is maintained by the local council and I guess they don’t have the budget for the upkeep. There is an entry fee, I can’t remember how much now, and there are plenty of visitors. There is so much history here, it was the place where Lord Byron resided and wrote his poetry. I do hope the National Trust can intervene and save this place.

These pictures are from Dovedale in the Peak District, one of my favourite places for a day trip. The water in the river Dove is so crystal clear, and the views are breathtaking.

The trip went oh so quick, and it was sad to say goodbye, but I was also really looking forward to seeing hubby and the kids on my return. I have never been away from them for that long before.

During my blogging break I also took up mountain biking!

I’m loving it! Soooo much fun, with some amazing mountain bike trails available here on the sunshine coast, I’ve been having a ball. I’ve met some nice people too. I joined a womens only intro to mountain biking program which has been wonderful. There’s always a visit to a local cafe at the end, something to look forward to. The views are always stunning wherever we go.

We have also been enjoying some time on the water with my stand up paddle board. Such a lovely way to do a core workout! We have enjoyed lots of beach days over the summer.

A beached whale!

We went camping, first time with the dog! We went to log dump campground near Tin Can Bay which was very basic, but quiet. The perfect place to escape from it all.

I love camping as a holiday. Its not always the most comfortable way to spend a few days, but I love the fact that we are away from technology and game consoles, iPads and TV. Its nice to see the kids be kids, entertaining themselves with campfires, fishing and exploring. Its good to be together as a family without other distractions going on. It really is quality time.

Exploring the sand banks

And of course the usual baking and crochet has been going on. We had some success with the veggie patch this year, sadly no photos of our giant cucumbers. Its been way too hot to grow much else. I am looking forward to the cooler weather so I can get stuck into it again.

I will be back to show you some of my crafty goings on. They need a post of their own. I will be catching up on all news of a bloggy nature this week too, and hope to check in on you all.

T x

Crochet party favours

It was B’s birthday last month and we had a little party for her. She invite a handful of friends to do laser tag, then back to our place for cake, treats and playtime. Normally I would make up some lolly bags for the guests to take home at the end of the party, but as there were only a handful of girls coming I thought it would be nice to make them something that would last longer than the car journey home.

I made up some little crochet hearts with each girl’s initial embroidered on using chain stitch.

I bought some sweet little jars from the discount shop at $2.50 each. I filled these with lollies, then hooked the little heart around the handle on the lid.

I thought they were rather cute, and cost very little to do. My girls loved them and demanded I make one for each of them too! The hearts are super quick to make, there are plenty of crochet heart patterns available on the web. I used this free crochet heart pattern. I made most of these while waiting for the kids doing their various activities.

The jars can be used to store coins or trinkets in once the lollies are gone. My girls have hung their hearts on their bedroom door handles. They could be made into key rings or bag tags afterwards too. Let me know if you give these a try, you can make some lovely colour combos.

card making

Its amazing what you can do with a few scraps of fabric, yarn, card and felt hanging around in the craft cupboard. A friend of mine had her birthday at the weekend and we are meeting for coffee tomorrow to celebrate. I had forgotten to get her a card, so I decided to quickly make one before the school run. I crocheted a flower, found a little button to sew on for the centre, cut a piece of fabric for the background and made a card using some leftover white card from a school project. I stuck all the bits on with craft glue. I think it looks rather cute.

I hope she likes it. Its not perfect, but then that is what makes handmade cards all the more appealing.

The little one and I spent an hour making cards for Fathers Day which was last weekend. We came up with these designs using scraps of felt and card from the craft cupboard again

I think we will be making more cards in the future. Definitely cheaper than the shops!

Have a great week 🙂