advice from a craft genius

do you ever feel that you don't have enough hours in the day? that you don't own your own time? i read this post by aunty cookie who made the pertinent point that you actually choose how to spend your time.

regrettably, i'm one of those annoying people she talks about, who wonders why they don't have time to do things. work vs family? vs friends? vs crafting? vs reading-a-book-for-goodness-sake**! vs life admin? (aunty cookie would definitely disapprove in this department - mmm, change subject!)

case in point: elmo's got heaps of work too, but recently, he baked lemon madeleines for the first time (just imagine that our cupcake tins are shaped as madeleines =) ). these are a much more enjoyable end point than, say, the lame-oh choice of working longer hours.
totally delicious elmo, thank you!

how shameful i feel. so no more complaining, my fault for choosing how to fill the day. but it's time to get tough with those hours!

in an effort to redress this, i made a quilt to welcome a lovely new bub, mr s, to the world via sunny brisvegas. after piling on every cute new fabric in the stash, i exercised some restraint and kept it simple.
Besides, I had to include this awesome animal origami fabric from Ikea.

And hooray, I have mastered the mitered corner (yeah yeah i'm slow)! I used a ruby red bias tape from Bird Textile (found at Wilkins and Kent) to bind the quilt, and all other fabrics are from Ikea or the lovely folks at Patchwork by the Sea in Adelaide.

congrats dr e and p! and welcome mr s, we're looking forward to meeting you.

ps: and yes, i WILL make time for more projects.
** i have read (a MEASLY) one book this year: Zadie Smith's, Changing My Mind. Does it count if it's a collection of essays as opposed to a complete narrative? Sigh.

Listening: 60 Second Idea To Improve the World podcast, BBC world service.

your adventure is about to begin...

Ah!!! I've been ready to embrace this weekend for a few days...

Moving further into an early nana-hood (!), I had a couple of requests for baby blankets and so, I have been learning how to embroider from this op shop book. This book is fantastic: clear diagrams and simple instructions. I treated this first quilt as a primer of sorts, using chain, laced chain, twisted chain, lazy daisy, feather and sheaf filling stitches around a few animals on a children's textile from Ikea.

I think it's safe to show a small reveal of the rest of the pressie (otherwise, look away sis!).

Petals/leaves ready to be assembled into Autumn bunting...

:: Autumn leaves before ::

...and this perfect papercut card for the new parents: Our Adventure Is About To Begin.

You might recognise papercut artist Rob Ryan's distinctive style; we found this at Ryan's wonderful London shop at the Columbia Road Flower Market and simply couldn't resist!

of late...

it's been really busy lately (what? it's july already?!), so i have come to treasure the time i can spare for some sewing.

* my third attempt at crafting a baby quilt.
i confess that i'm making it up as i go along, but i think i'm improving a little bit with each attempt.
the fabrics are a mix of brand new, op-shopped or gifts from our circle of friends...

with a shinzi katoh frog for good measure...

* recently, i accompanied lise and d-man to ikea when they went to buy a kitchen (as you do).

i went exploring, discovered (apparently) better ways of living and, of course, complete disorientation ensued. do not veer from the ikea path in ikea world peoples!

it was with joy that i discovered the textiles section: this print is from the Gunilla range and i found a matching, plain canvas to go with. i snapped up a half metre of each and had to hold myself back from the other bolts of fabric.

i felt so inspired that i made this bag that very evening. this bag features a magnet snap clasp, a small pocket inside and a hook to hold keys. it's just big enough to hold A4-size documents, perfect for laptop free days to work... huzzah!

i always seem to come away from ikea feeling that life is poorer without a modular/minimalist/flim-flam organisation system.

(ok, alright, i want a clean-living, clutter-free, sweet ikea life, damnit!)


PS: we've been wanting to get out of the big smoke for a while, so we took advantage of a free weekend and went down to the peninsula.

a while back, i did some weeding and planting with a volunteer group.
how amazing is this transformation: compare this to our visit last week

our little grasses are so big...and it's so green and lush! it was very exciting to see =)