my weekend ~ peaceful pottering

Hello lovely tranquil people...I do hope you had a terrific weekend.

Due to a great deal of this...

There was a lot of pottering about...literally...

lettuce, cherry tomatoes and lemon basil (I know, I hadn't heard of that one either!

And Sarah, I promise to get the slayer a proper tag one day :)

I started to make a softie from a kit I bought at Spotlight...for the Softies for Mirabel Project 2010 (I do hope a kit is acceptable!). These are for kids orphaned or abandoned due to their parents' drug addiction...a really good cause. Softies need to get to Melbourne by 7 December if you'd like to make one...check out the link for all the details.

I've almost finished another pincushion...this one's hot pink...

and with the left over bits of the stuff you do the tapestry on (what is that called?), I made a couple of bookmarks...

and I tackled the huge pile of unread magazines that I have lying around...these are but a sample!

...which leads me to the subject of that ghastly wall colour that I've allowed you a glimpse of...which I am pleased to say will be no more by 17 December. Tiny came through with a reasonable quote and his team arrive on the 13th for a week. Yes, there will be before and afters!

And here are some scanned photos from one of the magazines that I managed to demolish...a fabulous Adelaide home in Belle magazine...love it to bits.

So I guess you could say I spent quite a bit of time sitting on my butt this weekend!! But (ha!) I was also a very lucky blogger and won a gorgeous book on Simone's blog yesterday...this one...

It will be very happy here I'm sure, especially when my walls are painted white :) Thank you so much Simone...go and say hi if you haven't already...Honey and Fizz is a blog full of gorgeousness.

A very warm hello and welcome to new readers. I really do hope you enjoy your visits. And lastly, but certainly not least...thank you so much for all your lovely comments about my post on Rose. She truly was special.

my creative space...two blue and white pincushions

Can I just indulge myself in a tiny bit of self congratulation please? It doesn't happen all that often. I am so happy with how my blue and white pincushions are looking. One complete...and some pretty flowers from the garden thrown in for good measure!

I'm loving the freshness of the blue and white, and the thing that makes me happiest is that I designed a couple of the panels all by myself with some inspiration from a few rugs...who knew I could do that? I know it's not rocket science but hey, it's progress! Makes me want to do a lot more.

These are for the lovely Kerri, who's wonderful art and fabulous friendship is always inspiring me. I'm planning some different designs and colourways. They take time (and a whole lot of patience) to make but they're fun, and comforting in a granny doing needlepoint kind of way. 

And I'd like to think that these little pincushions might one day become little bits of a family history, passed on through a couple of generations...wouldn't that be lovely? I do hope they don't fall apart!!
For creativity galore, head on over to Kootoyoo for Thursday's crafty links. Bet they don't have nightmares about unravelling stitches :)

Star City...what a pity

I'm here for the next two days...

 yep...a casino

working with a client...with connections to this place. For.no.other.reason. Nope. 

At least I don't have to sleep here...the first born's putting me up.

I'm not doing this...

or this...

 

or even this...

  

because apart from anything else, I doubt that this would go very far...

As it's Wednesday, I should be at home doing a bit of this...I've been asked for a blue and white pincushion...bit excited about that

But instead I'm working. Work work. Seriously.

I wish you could have come with me

...casino 'decor' is in definite need of you blogstar decorators. Which makes me wonder...is there such a thing as a chic casino?

I've been to this one...

Monte Carlo...I thought it was so glamorous...I was young...I didn't know any better :))

Back some time on Friday bloggy peeps. Till then I'll try and stay out of trouble in the big smoke...shouldn't be hard. I'm much less adventurous than I used to be!

my creative space...some finished things!

If you Facebook with me you'll know that I had big plans for yesterday, but I think we know by now that nothing I try ever ends up being straightforward. But yesterday I did manage to get some things done...

I am completely in love with my tapestry cube pincushion and I'm just enjoying it on the coffee table for the moment. Or throwing it at the vampire slayer when she gets annoying! Which is often. Don't worry, it's soft :) This is what it started out like..

My friend Chris said it looks like a whole lot of mini persian rugs...exactly what I was aiming for!!

The A4 watercolour has found a home in an IKEA frame from my weekend in Sydney...alas, it can't be hung until I've finished painting the bedroom!

And what was meant to be a little makeup purse made from oilcloth...

ended up being made from cotton and lined with the oilcloth instead (which comes from Simone's shop by the way).  It's ok...I need to perfect a few things before I make some more, but it's useable I think!

Off on a flying visit to Sydney for a few hours today. While I'm doing that why don't you head over to Kirsty's...and see what the crafting geniuses have been up to...that's where I'll be going when I get home :)

p.s. I was meant to be making cushions!
all images by me...

a small watercolour, a big thank you and a sick cat...

I had a minor moment of inspiration...why use one word when five will do!

So there you go, it's finished...apart from a frame. 
But I am planning a road trip to Sydney next weekend. Ikea's there. Ikea has frames...lots of them :)
And this is very close to being finished too...I am loving how it's working out.

Now I think I'm off to cook something out of this wonderful book... 

that I won at Amanda's lovely and ever so stylish blog Small Acorns...I'm going to start with this...chilli jam...yummo! 

Thank you so much Amanda, who also popped in this gorgeous little purse with my parcel...so kind...and doesn't it just look like spring in a packet!

Unlike the vampire slayer who is recovering from an operation she had on her head on Friday. Don't ask! She's doing better than my wallet I'd have to say!

Have a terrific end to the weekend bloggy peeps.
Thanks for visiting this week. It it so very, very lovely to have this wonderful blogosphere connection. Lifts me up, inspires me, makes me smile...and quite a lot of the time makes me laugh like a drain...whatever that means :)
I've got a Facebook page for the blog now. Well, actually I've had it for a while but I just didn't know how to put the button on here...so if you want to click through and be FB friends too, that'd be fab!

my creative space...starting's easy!

No-one could accuse me of not giving things a go! Not starting is not the issue...

It's the finishing that may be slightly problematic...so just consider all of these a work in progress...as they say. After a rather uninspiring attempt at a watercolour earlier this week, I gave it another go...something much simpler this time...it's getting there...

Then there's the granny square rug...the squares are all done...now I just have to sew them together. The first born will get it just in time for summer!! Bet she's thrilled about that!

I've been experimenting with a bit of tapestry (or is it needlepoint)...and what's the difference anyway! You've seen this one before. I have to make it into a little door hanger thingy. The other one will probably end up sewn into something or other...

I think I'm going to frame this one when it's finished. Not sure about the heart but I love the background...I was quite pleased with that.

But this next one...in the very early stages...I do know what this is destined to become! I think it'll be quite swish if it works out the way I want it to...fingers and toes crossed bloggy peeps. 

I may have rather a short attention span I suspect!

There's a whole bunch of creatives over at Kootoyoo.

my creative space...design gone slightly awry

Since I've almost completed the ten year cat tapestry project...yes, I am easily distracted like to take my time...I thought I'd have a go at designing a little tapestry project myself..something simple...

Graph paper was purchased, the colouring pencils came out and I had myself a little design...but it didn't take long for me to realise that said design was going to look, well...let's say, not quite what I had in mind!

So, I improvised and I'm quite happy with how it's coming along. A little less grandma and a bit more boho!

It's going to be a little cushiony thing with a loop you can hang over a knob of some description :)

Maybe I'll do some Christmas themed ones...joy, Noel, move your arse Santa...that type of thing...or perhaps not!!