on liberty

(With apologies to John Stuart Mill who didn't have anything so frivolous as fabric in mind.)

My first memory of Liberty fabric was in a Country Road blouse that my mother had. This is back when there was a Country Road store in the Jam Factory, and the Jam Factory was indeed an old jam factory, red brick and original jam making machinery on display. It is several weeks ago that I declared that I would declare my best intentions as a way of prompting myself to pursue them. I'm not even half-way there, partly because I keep buying things - inspired by the fabric, the colour, the texture, the fibre ...

Here is some Liberty(-like) fabric that I have in stock:

















On the left, a women's cotton shirt that could perhaps become a child's sundress with some pintucks or shirring (I really need to give shirring a go, it features in many of my plans). On the right, an entire dress which I think is hand made because there are no labels on it. Hence I don't actually know what the fibre content is - I'm going to avoid these sorts of blind purchases in future. What's the point of having all that fabric but not being confident to use it because you're not sure what it is? Both very William Morris, Arts and Crafts-esque, whether they are genuine or not. Both purchased at the op shop of course.

And here is the real deal:

Liberty Tana Lawn - a very thoughtful gift from a very dear friend who was recently visiting in London. Thank you!

industrial revolution

Intarsia - the technique that dare not speak its name. I have previously alluded to the fact that the extent of my multi-coloured knitting facility is stripes. Having said which, I recently (and perhaps idiosyncratically) picked up a copy of Kaffe Fasset's Glorious Knitting for $3.00 at a second-hand bookshop in Burnie, Tasmania (what a rich shopping trip, ah, I mean holiday, that was). Just because it's not for me doesn't mean that I don't still find it visually, well, glorious. I even tested out his recommended method for knitting in ends (just on a plain colour garment to join in a new ball) but found that it offered no give in the garment so wasn't appropriate to the purpose.

So, speaking of ends and intarsia, marvel here at what industrial knitting can do:

Umm, yeah, they are Oilily socks. Their products are preposterously expensive but I picked these up at the pre-Christmas warehouse clearance sale (details via the previous link). Given that almost everything else I buy for baby bear costs less than $5.00 I thought that I could treat her.

I'm feeling quite stretched for time at the moment - nothing that a couple of good night's sleep won't fix. And as always, so many ideas in my head, so many separate projects on the go. I really must, must, must concentrate on what I have currently under construction.

Speaking of which, the tomten jacket is so close - I have sewn on the toggles and have completed the i-cord for the fastenings, it's now just a matter of sewing them up and affixing them to the jacket. Why do I drag my feet so on the finishing stage? I know why, because I find that first burst of inspiration and industry so exciting. It's like a fix. I wish that I could adopt some industrial knitting efficiency around here.

wanderlust

If I were to empty my bank account, book now and leave tomorrow I might just make it in time.

For those already in the UK (or with a larger bank account than mine) programme details available here.

vol 9

We're going to start out of order on the Golden Hands volumes because there's something so exciting to show you (well, exciting to me). Here we have it, volume 9:


















Ever thought of crocheting a door curtain? No, me neither, but a queen size bedspread? Yes.


And I'm clearly not the only one. I was amazed when reading The Good Weekend a month or so ago to find that one of Renya Xydis' (apparently a Sydney hairdresser) favourite things is the bedspread that her grandmother crocheted for her.

















Recognise the pattern? Mine is crocheted in 4 ply Heirloom brand cotton. 5 x 6 squares each 37 cms square, and the edging of my own design is about 14 cms deep.


So, approximate final measurements ... 213 x 250 cms. I must weigh it one day to work out how many skeins I must have used. I crocheted the bedspread square by square over about two or three years when we were living in Sydney. When I finished it I had such crochet fatigue that I had to learn to knit.

Making my crochet bedspread was actually inspired by an exhibition that I saw at Elizabeth Bay House, years back, when I was living in Sydney. The exhibition, 'And So to Bed', told "the stories of the changing styles of beds, bed hangings and bedding" and is where for the first time I saw a knitted counterpane (bedspread). I was so impressed and as I couldn't knit at the time decided to crochet one. Now that I can knit, of course all I want to do is knit one.

encyclopaedia

Still on the topic of Tasmanian op shops and how they reflect the populace - Tasmanians must be a learned bunch. The op shop bookshelves are full of encyclopaedic series: twelve volumes on 'The World Around Us', eight volumes on 'Mammals', eighteen volumes of Golden Hands: the complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide.

Well, that last set isn't on the shelves anymore because it has been in my house for the last five years or so. I did buy it on a previous visit to Tasmania though, from Vinnies Boutique in Wynyard for the princely sum of $5.00 (the same visit to Tasmania when I learned to crochet). Gold indeed, these books are an absolute treasure - they contain instructions on pretty much everything. dressmaking indeed, knitting and crochet and the full gamut of needlecraft - all sorts of embroidery, needle-made lace, tatting, patchwork, needlepoint, toy making, bobbin lace, etc - plus the 'Fashion Flair', 'Pattern Library' and 'Collector's Piece' features. The fashion flair is all circa 1972 but that can be a great thing! There's inspiration galore and the skills are always transferable. Maybe I'll do a weekly feature to show you some of what they have to offer.

In other exciting news - I've read a book! Iain Banks' The Steep Approach to Garbadale. I really enjoyed an earlier of his novels, The Crow Road, which was very meandering and it took a long time for the direction of the narrative to distill. Garbadale is more of the same in terms of episodes from the life of a young Scottish male but the plot is much clearer from the outset. I was disappointed though with the ending - the aftermath of the plot bombshell (which I had sort of guessed anyway) and its repercussions were not sufficiently explored. Still a good read but in terms of recommending them I'd say read one or the other, probably The Crow Road.

ps. I often see the odd Golden Hands volume in the op shop or second-hand book shop. Or try ebay or abebooks - collect the whole set!

riddled

Artemis, Caledonian, Knox, Bennetts, Griffin, Club, McGrath, Jane Bell, Punch, Ulster, Corrs, Heffernan, Kitz, Gurners, Evans, Exploration, Grant, Hayward, Albert Coates, Red Cape, Arc, Rankins, Zevenboom, Guildford, Flanigan, Finlay, Sampson, Lonsdale, Alsop, Healeys, Manton, Warner, Merriman, Elliott, Cleve, Cosgrove, Ramsay, Cromby, Guests, Benjamin, Barry, Hardware, Racing Club, Waterman, Niagra, Kirks, Whitehart, Driver, Angelo, Bullens, Coates, Union, Masons, Briscoe, Mitre, Brien, New Chancery, Michael, Henty, Church, McCrackens, Geddes, Stubbs, Flinders, Highlander, Custom House, Harper, Foxton, Samuel, Ryrie, Lingham, Rothsay, Manchester, Chapterhouse, Hosier, Lush, Beaney, Chester, Malthouse, ACDC, Higson, Oliver, Strachan, Spark, Throssell, Howitt - heavens, Melbourne's riddled with them! I had no idea that there were so many.

What am I on about? "Melbourne's famous laneways ...Melbourne's famous laneway culture... famous laneways of Melbourne ... One of the great things about Melbourne are its numerous famous laneways all across the CBD grid." And that is just the Lanes; then there's the Places, the Arcades, the Alleys, the ...

As a native, of course, you have to go to a bar that is in a lane off a lane - that is, Sister Bella (Sniders La, off Drewery La, Melbourne; M-S 10:00am-1:00am). You walk past the dumpsters, sidestep the random rubbish, avert your eyes from the rear entrance of the X-rated bookstore (well, I do) and there at the end, on the right is a great bar. I thoroughly approve of their décor.

It hasn't been all glasses of champagne around here, though. I have procured some 42mm bamboo toggles from the Button Shop (that is, Tim stayed home with a slightly unwell baby bear and I got him to go and collect them). Am not totally convinced yet and will be at Woolbaa tomorrow (snb knitting - hooray!) where I have seen some options. I was wanting to lighten the tomten jacket up a bit - oh, you haven't seen it yet? - but am thinking that some black wooden toggles would actually look great.

I've also knitted twelve or so rows of the first of the baby ballerina top's sleeves. I tell you, I am tempted to not mention this project ever again (or at least until it is utterly complete). And Jeremy - I have finished the first sleeve. Do you find when you frog something that you can't bear to put it down until you have re-knit all of that kinky frogged wool? That's me.

jeremy

Have you been to Wondoflex (1353 Malvern Rd, Malvern; tel. 9822 6231 or 9822 8005) lately? I think that it is about a year since I was last there and on my visit yesterday I was really pleasantly surprised. It's somehow neater there, more welcoming, better layout of the displays and use of the space that keeps you wandering around past the shelves. And they've got some great stuff! 100% bamboo yarns - now there's a new natural fibre for me to try. A good range of cottons and beautiful stuff from Sublime Yarns which I hadn't heard of before but appears to be a subsidiary of Sirdar. Baby cashmere merino silk dk, cashmere merino silk dk, kid mohair, extrafine merino wool dk or cashmere merino silk aran anyone? Next time an aran weight yarn is called for, I'm going to try some Sublime.

Wondoflex also has a good range of Opal sock yarns, some great baby knit kits using Filatura di Crosa Zara (which is a yarn that I love) and Knit Picks Options knitting needles. Oh, and a bit of Noro to boot. Umm, truly, I have no association with the shop except that I went there yesterday and was impressed. They also have rug yarn which sets my brain abuzz. What about a crochet rug? What about a crochet rug with a design like on this wonderful carpet from Kiki van Eijk? Or just a great big doily to use as a rug? What would I use for a hook? Unh, might call for a trip to the local hardware store ...

Anyway, what on earth was I doing in a wool shop when I have all that seaming to do? Well, buying wool of course. There is something about having to cast on anew immediately once other knitting has finished and hence the seaming languishes. I have, however, made great progress on the baby ballerina top (yes, really) which has been my great languisher. All I need to do is seam the back of the collar and I will cast on (whoopee!) for the sleeves as I will know precisely how much yarn I have left to play with. The tomten jacket is also all seamed up, and ends darned in, but requires appropriate buttons which I am still searching out. I found some wooden toggles (at Wondoflex!) which are just the shape I want but are perhaps not quite large enough and don't have the burnished look that I am hoping for. Might see if I can singe them a bit ... do you think that's possible? Once I have the buttons sorted I will be able to finish the i-cord. Oooh, I do see finished objects on the horizon.

In the meantime, I have cast on for Jeremy and am onto my third attempt (!) to complete the first sleeve cap. I can't believe that the counting on a raglan could elude me so. I am using Jet (shade 508). The pattern called for 8.5 stitches to 2 inches and Jet knits to 16.5 stitches per 10 centimetres. I am quite a tight knitter (no matter how much I attempt to relax) and I think I am getting 18 stitches to 10 centimetres but, hey, that's ok, it's a size up for baby bear to grow into. I decided to take the start-on-the-sleeve-as-a-test-swatch route for the first time which has worked out fine, but I must say that you'd be annoyed after working all that ribbing if it didn't.

Jeremy also happens to be the name of my beloved brother who has handed in his Honours thesis - hooray J! So proud of you.

the liberry

Last week on Friday I:

- was vomited on at three in the morning
- missed my flight to Tasmania
- locked myself out of the house
- drove to Sandringham to collect my neighbour's house key in order to get my spare key from her kitchen drawer, and
- visited the All Souls' Opportunity Shop in Bay Road, Sandringham (tel: 9598 2189; M-F 9:30-5:00, S 9:30-12:00) where I recovered a portion of my childhood.


Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library! is a book that I read as a child and have been trying to recall for the past few years. I could remember that library was incorrectly spelled but not the actual title and thought that it was a picture story book. I always have a look on the bookshelves in the op shop - for good children's books, for craft books and, well, anything else of interest. I have no recollection of how this book ends - it's next on my reading list!

The All Souls' Opportunity Shop is fantastic, one of those old fashioned op shops where things cost a couple of dollars and there is a 5c basket. I also bought some great children's clothes, a vintage Fisher-Price toy, a couple of jumpers and a rubber duck (from the aforementioned 5c basket). Highly recommended.

This entry is also cross-posted on I op therefore I am - have a look at what other people are finding!

ps - hi Tamar! xxx

doily crisis

As you can see, I am stockpiling in anticipation of the coming doily crisis. Hmm, what did you say? Oil crisis. Oh. Well. In that case I’ll be using these doilies (one day) to make a patchwork quilt for baby bear. I got the idea from the excellent book Make Your Own Contemporary Quilts. While it seems a shame to cut up some of these gorgeous pieces of needleworkmanship many of them are stained or torn in places and it is better for them to have a new life as a bedspread than to languish forever at the bottom of a drawer or to be thrown out.

A swag of these came from my recent op shopping in Tasmania, others come from various Melbourne op shops and some were found for me by my mother-in-law - thank you! Most op shops will have a couple hiding somewhere in the manchester section but Tasmanian op shops seem to have a doily section all of their own.

Re-use is one of my favourite environmental strategies and I would like to do a whole lot more of it. This idea has been around for a while – I’ve had a Freitag bag for a few years now, made from old truck tarpaulins, seatbelts and tyre inner tubes. I’ve done a bit of yarn recycling, a lot of it sitting waiting to be re-knit. Lately I’ve been reading the excellent Brooklyn Tweed knit blog – boy, can that boy knit and take great photos to boot – but Jared is also a yarn recycler – hooray. And on The Lab recently I came across the fantastic Dutch design group, Zo. I am elated and inspired by their innovation – particularly the telephone wire used as a chair seat

I still can’t get over how much stuff there is in the world, how much there is in resources right to hand that otherwise get overlooked. All it takes is some imagination, some inspiration and some creativity to re-use them. I want to do more of this.

We’re off to the Strathbogie Ranges this afternoon. Alas, there are no op shops in Strathbogie. Actually, there’s no internet in Strathbogie. Maybe I’ll actually get something done over the next few days!

tassie gems

Where to start? Tassie - love Tassie. Many people have travelled much of Australia, much of the world but have never been to Tasmania. I strongly recommend it as a holiday destination. Baby bear has been three times already. And there are great op shops there.

Have you ever noticed how an op shop's stock can reflect the area it is situated in? For instance, I have bought designer children's clothing from the Uniting Care Southport op shop in Albert Park (115 Bridport St; T+S 11:00-4:00, W-F 11:00-5:00; be sure to go to Woolbaa across the road while you are there!), a blue-chip, baby boom suburb. Well, Tasmanians on the north-west coast, judging from what is stocked in the op shops in Wynyard, Somerset and Burnie, like to make things. Or did twenty years ago. There are knitting patterns, sewing patterns, needlework kits and knitting needles galore in these places. Too many to sort through, too overwhelming. Although I did manage to isolate a few:

Child's Blazer by Robin. They recommend Robin Bambino Freckles, Tricel-Nylon, Bri-Nylon, Columbine Crepe or Vogue double knitting. As I am a woman who cares (don't you love the gender bias here?) I will be choosing some lovely 100% natural fibre 8 ply for this. So much to choose from though - as it will be for baby bear I think that a machine-washable wool (or wool/alpaca, /cashmere, /yak blend) would be best. I naturally think of red, my favourite colour, but how about navy with nautical silver buttons?



Patons Playtime Crochets - do you think that baby bear would ever forgive me?



Favourite Designs for Toddlers from Patons - originally priced 25 cents but I paid the inflationary figure of $3.00. Curious that the price is in metric but all the measurements inside are in inches. This is my favourite knitting find of the trip - the artlessly posed children, the vintage designs (each of which are named - Dennis, Beryl, Pauline ...). As with the Robin pattern, some of the yarns are now defunct - does anyone remember Azalea or Fuzzy Wuzzy? - but there are some tried and tested in there as well - Patonyle and my beloved Bluebell. I love Bluebell, it is such an old-fashioned yarn, 5-ply crepe dyed in old-fashioned colours and a pleasure to knit with.



Without further ado, I have pleasure in introducing:


Jeremy (left) - in Patons Jet (now this is the original Jet, 100% wool, as opposed to the current Jet, 70% wool 30% alpaca). I am considering, however, indeed using Jet - perhaps the steely blue (101) for a proper post-war look with some floral embroidery on the collar to lighten it up.

Noella (centre) - love the puff sleeves and the peter pan collar. This pattern calls for Azalea - pure new wool with a gauge of 8 stitches to the inch. Hmm, 4ply?

Lorel (right) - in Bluebell, hooray! Still available today. I'm thinking in cornflower blue (4103) with white stripes (0051) and red embroidery (3383). Yes, it will be Swiss darning for me, stripes are my furthest adventure in multi-colour.

And the tomten jacket - done! Just waiting for the sleeves to be seamed and we know how long that can take me. I shudder that I have knitted an entire garment while the baby ballerina top languishes for want of seaming. Why is it so much easier to cast on than to finish off?

Huge thanks to Pam and Neal for having us to stay - we had a ball.

hiatus

hi·a·tus [hahy-ey-tuhs]
–noun, plural -tus·es, -tus.
1. a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

It has been an event-filled few days here at bollewangenhaptoet. This has included:

- being vomited on at three o'clock in the morning
- getting locked out of the house
- amusing a one-year old single-handedly in an airport lounge for five hours.

As such we'll be taking what feels like a well-deserved short break here in sunny/cloudy/rainy/foggy/windy Tasmania and will (attempt to) resume normal programming upon our return to Melbourne. (And I forgot the camera, again.)

hot bargain

Dear Carlisle Street is blessed (or should that be afflicted?) with some half dozen two-dollar shops. Why is there such a market for cheaply manufactured rubbish in Balaclava? And nothing there ever costs $2. I don’t understand.


Really, I would be quite happy if the two-dollar shops were rationalised down to just, well, two would be plenty. And one of them would definitely be Hot Bargain (corner of Carlisle Street and Woodstock Street, open everyday until about 6:30pm), because it is the one closest to us and because it is our (Tim’s) favourite (it’s his favourite because it’s the one closest to us). I have been known to part with a small gold coin or two there myself in the past – they have a stand with Birch elastic and Güterman sewing thread and basic sewing needles which can really come in handy.

And what could Carlisle Street do with in place of all the rationalised two-dollar shops? I would love to see a second-hand book store, a Medicare office, possibly even another bar with big comfy sofas where we could hold a Balaclava stitch’n’bitch session. There I could work on some knit graffiti (did you see the Good Weekend this Saturday past?). My neighbour has incited me to produce a balaclava (what else?) to adorn the streetscape somewhere. I agreed to do so if she would climb up on the railway bridge and affix it to one of the mermaids in the Lady of St Kilda mural.

Other changes that could be made to Carlisle Street? Oh, don’t even get me started on the Subway.

elna

I think that I may previously have mentioned that I have an overlocker - well here she is, my elna LOCK (they must have gotten a consultant to help them name the model, that's what I associate that out-of-place italicisation and capitalisation with). It's been a couple of months since I bought it, but only yesterday that I actually used it for the first time. Hooray! I'm so happy with it.

The Elna lock (we'll drop the consultant speak) was one of my early ebay purchases. I think that I was very lucky that I happened to be the only person in the market for one at that time who was in the right place to collect it because it only cost me $25.00 - bargain. I did also spend $82.50 to have it serviced but I have no idea how one fits together and was afraid of causing damage if something was out of alignment. Turns out that it was all in good working order. Ah well, the price of peace of mind.

What took me so long to get around to using it? Oh well, you know, finding the time, getting it down off the shelf, learning to thread it ... yes, I was a little afraid of it. In the end I got Tim to help me out (being a mechanically minded bloke and all) and it turned out that the problem with my previous threading efforts was that the needle was not properly engaged.

Yesterday and today I have been starting out with some small projects. Baby bear is a very good independent eater but she also loves to throw her food over the side of the high chair's tray table. At a friend's suggestion I made a pile of multi-purpose cloths out of an old towel that I can use to mop up her hands and face, then wipe the tray table and the floor. The old towel is one of two that I bought for my first trip to Europe when I was 20. That was in 1995 so the towel has lasted well (not sure where the other one is) and now has a new lease of life. I can think about baguettes in Paris and appelgebak in Amsterdam while I mop up baby bear's soggy weetbix.

top of the class

It is only four days ago that the Elizabeth Zimmerman tomten jacket in Noro graduated from the 'best intentions' list to the 'I'm busy with' list and already it is at the top of the class. I have completed the back and fronts (knit all in one piece) and have the hood and sleeves to go. What is it about the tedious sewing up on the baby ballerina top fronts (yes, they are both finished) that can inspire me to power through this much garter stitch? Generally speaking, I dislike garter stitch and was only prepared to give this garment a go because I liked the construction and was sure that the result would be awfully cute. Now I can't wait to make more.

This is the first time that I have used Noro yarns - the Kureyon is a lovely weight and the colours are wonderful. I am concerned though that this colourway is a bit too dark for a little girl. When the knitting is complete, I'll consider lining it in a fabric that picks out the bright pink or light purple to brighten it up a bit. I'm very happy with the colour spacing in the yarn and I love the way that garter stitch blends the tones even further by virtue of the stitch structure. Perhaps that's partly why it knits up so quickly - there's the intrigue of what colour variation will come next? what will the next row look like?

I have to admit that I was a bit resistant to the whole EZ thing at first. Yes, 'the whole EZ thing'. I'll try to explain that later.

A couple of instances of ubiquidipity before I go. Only Midge, an Australian designer handbags company, is using the ladybird fabric in their current rage - the same fabric that features in my most recent refashion. And, on Spicks and Specks this Wednesday evening past there was a question about the Pogues - what the band's name means in Gaelic. Ah, what an obscure item of musical ephemera. Well, not so ephemeral because the very next day it came up again in the novel I'm reading, The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks. I'm really enjoying it.

mccall's 2403

This is the pattern that I purchased a few weeks ago for an unlined child's coat which I will not be making from polar fleece. I intend (oh, one day) to make a woollen version from a recycled Romeo Gigli jacket and a summer version from this great 60s cotton sundress.

It's always great to find a vintage dress that is 100% cotton. I'm sure that synthetics seemed like a good idea at the time, but the number of great op shop items that I have passed up because they were made from Dacron or BriNylon ... sob. Unfortunately this dress doesn't fit me, and I don't like the zip down the front, but I wasn't prepared to part with some original vintage natural fibres. Oh, and another great retro tag.

It's also the dress that I used in the banner for the I op therefore I am blog.

big

Following on from previous posts about my best intentions and my thing about Scanlan&Theodore is yet another planned project. Let me explain.

Some time after leaving S&T, Fiona Scanlan started designing Children's clothes = Big by Fiona Scanlan. There's not really much to see on the website but I spent a bit of time perusing the collection in Myer a few weeks ago. There I was quite taken with a very simple blue and white check dress with a lovely crochet, hmm, not quite a collar because it sat only in the centre front, but also not a jabot because there was no ruffle. Oh, let's just call it an elaborate crochet motif applied to the front.

Instantly, I wanted to make this dress, mostly because I love to crochet and there is nothing that spurs a craftstress more than the 'oh, I could do that' response. Further, there is little chance that we will forego paying the electricity bill to purchase any Big by Fiona Scanlan for baby bear in the near future (although I do have a jacket stashed away for her in a size 4 courtesy of Sacred Heart Mission - $12.)

I had a quick leaf through some crochet books for similar motifs but then had a brainwave - re-use. I made some fabulous purchases at Prahran Mission Goodwill Shop a week or so a go (have a look!) and this piece of lace will make do very nicely as a collar decoration. The pattern will be a very simple one courtesy of Golden Hands . The fabric I think I will purchase - it caught my eye the other day when I had a quick browse at Cutting Edge Fabric.

It's another one to add to the best intentions list. It can take the place of the Elizabeth Zimmerman tomten jacket in Noro Kureyon, shade 148. I've cast on.

crime fiction

I love crime fiction.

It started in primary school with Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden from which was born my first career ambition - to be a private detective. I had a lot of the TB books but in high school I gave them away to Kirsty ... what was her last name? I wanted to be Honey Wheeler and considered that my hair was just about the right shade for it but although I have blue eyes, they are not quite violet like Honey's. The honey shade of Honey's hair and the violet of her eyes were mentioned in every book. As was the fact that Trixie's brother's car was a jalopy - that's where I learnt the word jalopy.

My next phase was Agatha Christie. I don't think that I have read them all but very near to. My crime fiction reading waned a bit after that, until my university days when I started reading Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels and remembered how much I loved it. Some of those early books scared me silly. I haven't been at all impressed with her novels after The Last Precinct when she changed her style altogether and not for the better.

I've read all of PD James' novels - these are great books, more like a novel in which a murder occurs and is solved than a murder mystery. Sue Grafton - from A is for Alibi all the way through to S is for Silence and T is for Trespass is coming at the end of this year - excellent. I started reading this series long after the first ones were written and it was great to read through it, one after the other, and watch Sue Grafton's writing develop. And I love Kinsey Millhone. Ian Rankin's Rebus novels - great reading. I've got the final Rebus, Exit Music, on reserve at the library; I'm eighth in line but hey, I can wait.

I'm currently reading my way through Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series. These are harmless enough novels and there's always a comely maiden and a handsome youth who fall in love at first sight. I have just finished this, the fourth in the series - sixteen more to go.

my eyes are bigger

You would be forgiven for thinking that I have more ideas than I have time to execute. You would be right. I have, however haphazardly, been working on the odd thing.






















This little jumper is an op shop purchase that I have refashioned. I really liked the red and white stripes and the fact that it is 100% cotton but didn't like the bear and 'baby club' embroidery on the front. I have only shown the wrong side of said offending embroidery here - not to show you my neatly finished ends (hmph) but because I didn't take a photo beforehand. On the right is my refashion solution using a scrap of fabric kindly supplied by Di of Clementine's Shoes - do you recognise it here in her wonderful baby sling? Thanks Di!

It was a very simple refashion which, of course, was not simply achieved. I cut the piece of fabric to size (simple) and stuck it down with spray fabric adhesive (also simple). I then sewed the patch down with sewing thread (reasonably simple but the fabric frayed a tad in parts). Then after a very enjoyable trip to The Button Shop to choose just the right shade of embroidery floss (Anchor 44) I went to buttonhole stitch around the border. Not so simple because it just didn't look right so I did very small back stitch all around the edge and then the buttonhole stitch. Laborious but satisfying.

Oh, and the ladybird. Not to forget the lovely ladybird - gorgeous.

I have previously written about some materials, all recycled from the op shop, that I have collected to make a bag from. Gradually, I have been making progress on this too. The bag itself will be made from a felted dark green wool jumper. Inspired by a friend's lovely Gorman bag, I am going to do a tree appliqué/embroidery. The trunk is cut from a lambswool Esprit jumper that I bought some time ago from Josies - before cutting I stabilised it with iron-on interfacing on the wrong side.

The leaves are cut from a cotton jumper utilising the fashioning at the shoulder seams to represent the veins in the leaves, also stabilised with iron-on interfacing. Seams on cotton jumpers can be quite bulky so how did I get the leaves to be so flat? Well ... I actually undid the shoulder seams and ironed the knit fabric flat. Then I sewed the seam again on the machine using very small stitches and trimmed off the fabric beyond the seam. Then back under the iron. Very laborious, but also very satisfying.

golden hands

This wonderful book came in the mail today - it's so exciting to come home from work to a package peeking out from underneath the doormat. The Golden Hands Book of 60 Things to Sew for Children. When I first saw this book a couple of weeks ago it was an incredible nostalgia trip for me - upon opening it I realised that I already knew this book from when I was a child. True déjà vu.



I recognised the models and remembered which ones I liked best and who as a child I wanted to be friends with (the blonde girl in the grey culotte dress). The book was published in 1973 (isbn 0 600 07164 2), has a banana yellow and chocolate brown colour scheme and includes a number, well, 60 classic 70s patterns. Oh, and the terminology - 'adorable sleeveless beach robe' (in pastel striped terry towelling), 'crisp trouser suit', 'gaily trimmed pinafore'. These are patterns that call for ric-rac and a large stash of shirring elastic.


I intend to use some of these patterns to make the items that I have in mind for baby bear from my op shop purchases. The measurements are all in inches which should be fun to work with.

wip update

Actually, finally - a finished product. Five finished products in fact but the other bibs are either in the wash or have been given away already. There's one that I embroidered for a friend's little girl's birthday over at Wardrobe Refashion.

I have now used up almost all of the leftover cotton yarn that I used to knit the baby bobble jacket. That's a lot of mileage out of a jumper that I bought for only a few dollars at the op shop. The button is a lovely wooden one that I bought at, of all places, Dimmeys. I was walking past the Bridge Road, Richmond store one day and realised that I needed some sewing thread and that I might just find some there. Now, I have to hold my breath and steel myself to enter Dimmeys - the general ambiance of chaos in there is enough to give me a panic attack. But upstairs at the Bridge Road store they have a good haberdashery section with really good wooden buttons.

I'd like to make a few more of these bibs - I have some similar weight cherry red cotton unravelled and recycled from another jumper that I may use for the purpose. I think that I will shape the straps on future bibs though so that they curve slightly in towards each other.

In other recycled knitting news, I am progressing on the baby ballerina top - one front side and collar complete, the other almost there. I still haven't made my trip to the digital scales at Coles though - maybe tomorrow. And I dropped by Josies today - as I often do - and found a cotton/linen mix knit in a dark brown, sleeveless, probably just about enough yarn to knit Molly from Debbie Bliss' Junior Knits.