goodie guards!

With the BBQ season coming up I'm turning my mind to eating outside and getting my picnic stuff organised!! One thing I don't have is something to put over the food on the outside table... you know to stop the bugs from munching before we get to. What i do have is a lot of ivory gauze from a curtain that I made for a friend's wedding a while ago...so i picked up some wire (plain garden wire worked best, being cheap, strong but malleable) The round one was a bit awkward to get even. It's made from 5 panels each the same size. I hemmed them together and then bent the wire to fit. I added stitches along the seams securing the wire in place and thereby reinforcing the structure. The bottom seam was then bent under and a single line of zig-zag all round the base...easy peasy! The square was infinitely easier as there is only 4 panels and there's no need to secure a loose wire at the apex....it's just two long wires diagonally secured at opposite corners. Add a little circle of colour-coordinated suede at the top to hide the join and add a little tag for lifting. ...and that's me BBQ ready!!!

"only green tea for me!"

Lil'pil is in the throes of a green-tea-only phase. It's not always so easy to find the green variety in houses round here so i decided to make her a little hand-bag sized "caddy" to carry some around! A tea-wallet if you will. The pattern for this one came from this post and allowed me to use another of my baked buttons.

I used 3 different fabrics, the lovely pastel tartan, some tyedye in the same colours and a bright green. Fun and quick...I recommend!

I fancy making one for myself...although mine would have earl grey!!! mmmMMM!

plant posts again!

Well the last ones turned out to be so useful that I decided to re-run the fun! These ones are a bit bigger because the plants are much larger now and they were dwarfing the labels! Unless you are very sure of the complete and substantial coverage of the varnish i don't recommend them for use outside. The little twist in the bottom will help to keep it steady in the soil of the pot.

country cottage quilt

Sorry about the poor pic ...but it's very hard to photograph a whole quilt!! I made this quilt a while back from a samples book of curtain and cushion fabrics. This is a really good way of getting a small quantity of squares of many different matching prints...and it's usually free!! (which is a big selling point to me!)I cross-stitched lots of little patches to break it up a bit.
Each of the little verses come from the Bible and these were the verses that kept me encouraged when waiting on God for an answered prayer in the past.
Of course they all still apply!!
And are new again everytime i need them!
That's the beauty of a living book!
And that's why i wanted to surround myself with them
So that i can be encouraged the next time i am waiting!
And can have the strength to have patience!!
...because it's not one of my strong points!!

"See, i am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said"

And on the bottom i just picked a neutral mocha lining with little baby pink hearts all over.

ooh!! at the office 6

So this time i did something slightly different in that i altered a man's shirt rather than just adapting a girl's version....tip for anyone else trying it ...give yourself some breathing space ...you know what i'm saying here right??!!! It was TIGHT at first try on...talk about chest compression?!!! OUCH!!It was tough to give "girl-breathing-space" aka chest expansion space because of the linear striped pattern...because everytime i tried to make darts they looked too obvious. I used the same puffed-sleeve pattern as i did for ooh!! at the office 4.
Have a go...it's addictive!!

starfish asia

So my mamma had a great idea to help support the charity that one of my aunts is involved in supporting: Starfish Asia. They help to provide a future for children in crisis, by funding the education of children from the poorest families in Pakistan.

We made plant pot sticks with starfish in salt dough, and tagged them for publicity and reminders to pray for the work! My aunt was so keen on them that she "ordered" 75 of them to hand out at the next exhibition!!! We better get started!!!

glasses glove

Well this could be the simplest craft i've done in ages. My prized designer vintage sunglasses bought at an antique market in Milano were in serious danger of getting all scratched. So i decided to make a quilted case for a bit of protection. It consisted of three 7" squares of: outer material, quilt batting and inner lining material. Sew the "sandwich" together, fold over and seam bottom and side....then elasticate the mouth to keep the sunnies safe inside...DONE!

buttoned beanie

So i found a use for one of my big buttons anyway...i sewed it onto this quickie-hat that i rustled up a couple of weeks ago to try out a pattern. I crocheted the crown using some pointers from this post and then knitted a thick band to sew on, to give a bit of contrast. The band overlapped onto itself and needed a little brooch or button or something.
Gill road-tested it for me on our lovely skive-work-day", when all the females of the family took the day off and went for a fabulous coastal walk and big tasty lunch....may we have many more of them!!! Doesn't she look great?!...that's the excitement of avoiding work!

sign-posted seedlings

A fun thing about this time of year is getting all the little veggies up and running! We are "seedling-central" in houseofspoon! Something that happens to me every year is that i have a mystery pot...that is one that i don't remember what's supposed to be growing! So I thought i'd get my salt-dough obsession on the case!!
now all my little babies have signposts explaining what i can hope to be eating very soon!!! Yes...there are millions of chillis!!!
Got carried away and started making fancy ones!!!
"C'mon pepper...the label is dwarfing you...get a spurt on!!!"
Now just have to make labels for the pumpkins, the onions, the shallots, the lettuce, pak choi and my favourite...rocket!!!

wraps all round!

So i had a request for another jewellery tools wrap...it seems that poog has started a(nother) trend! I received clear instructions that it was to be pink and black. Well, with no pink-and-black patterned material I had to resort to making a pattern myself......time for some simple free-motion fun!!
All wrapped up and ready for dispatch...what a simple craft!