shabby chic bag

Hello to anyone still reading my blog! I thank you for your patience!  I am finally getting a blog post up about one of the bags I have been making recently!

Due to my getting side tracked reading some fantastic blogs tonight (again!!), I am having to keep my blog post short and to the point.

The point is just this bag.  Isn't it lovely?  To all the recyclers out there... this bag in its entirety is made from recycled/ vintage goods. (oops, except interfacing).  The main fabric is a interior fabric swatch I found one day and the flap is a vintage embroidered doily found while op-shopping.

 

The lining is some pretty floral fabric scrap picked up from a garage sale awhile ago, while the bag handle was a great vintage find and finishes off the bag quite nicely.

Cheers for now.  Will be back soon with pics of another bag.  Plus some tea towels I appliqued and room shoes I made for a friend.  I've got to take the photos first but the skies are grey, grey and more grey!!!

sorry guys/gals

I haven't posted for awhile and just want to write a quick note to let you know that I haven't been kidnapped or killed.  I have been ill.  The doc's opinion is its Ross River Virus.  I have only just had the test  and am still waiting for results.  Alas, testing at the time of getting crook is useless as 'ross river' takes up to six weeks to show up.

Feeling achy and tired.  My eyesight is deteriorating and can be depressing for crafty people who like to hand sew!  I am finding it rather difficult to focus up close.  Doctor diagnosed me with 'Surfer's Eye'.  Not internet surfer but wind surfers.  I have sun and wind damage.  Playing on the internet does make my eye go blood shot really quickly so have tried to give my eye a break from the computer for most stuff except quick email stuff and facebook keeping in touch stuff.  My eye became much improved with pain and redness from the break.!

But I have made some bags!!  and will take some photos soon as I find my camera!

Take care.  I am going to try and have a massive catchup on everyones blog real soon (and most likely cause my eye to play up and become sore again!)  I am going to have a beeper near my PC to remind me to have a huge break after 30 mins. maybe sooner.  Or program my PC to shut down after 30 mins/hour and not let me back on till I have had a break!  Any opinions?  Does anyone else have eye problems that using a computer worsens?

WTF!

I got some shocking and disturbing news last week.    My father's, sister's great grandson who is only 7 years old has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.  We don't have much info yet as half of Dad's siblings stayed living in England while the rest of the family migrated to Australia in the early 50's.

What is shocking,  is that this is the third child in our family to be diagnosed with pediatric cancer.  My son, as I have previously posted was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour called Medulloblastoma when he was 6 years old and my sisters youngest was diagnosed (two years before my son) with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia when she was 7 years old.  We are all wondering if this is all an awfully shocking coincidence or if some sinster mutation has affected our childrens DNA.

I feel really bad hoping that the child in England has a different brain tumour to Medulloblastoma.  If he has the same, how are they going to feel knowing that a child in our family suffered poorly with it and didn't survive.  What if the family want me to give support?  I don't feel I would be the best person for that because I cant give postives.  My son died.

I can only give info on what went wrong in my sons treatment and advise them on what to look out for, but really I would like for them to have a positive feeling that their child is going to live.

My hands are shaking as I write this.  I keep getting flashbacks.  The unresolved anger at certain professionals keeps coming back.  I keep planning on writing a letter to those people to let them know how they made me feel and that what they did was not right and maybe they wont make the same mistakes again.  But I never write the letter.  The anger subsides again.  I make excuses for them eg understaffed, no department head, unprecedented new cases of childhood cancer being diagnosed etc.

I haven't had any paid work this week to take me out and keep me occupied and feel really too flat to visit friends (plus they are mostly at work anyway) and I feel no motivation to do anything at home.  The house is a mess and needs my sole attention at the moment but not tonight.  Tonight I am visiting Mr Jim Beam.

 2011 is a bad year.

Rushed, unplanned birthday gift.

Front of pot holder

Back of pot holder

A pot holder I made.  I wasn't planning on making any potholders and they definitely were not on my 'things to do' list.  What was on my list of things to do was finish off those bunny softies from previous post.

I had decided to find something on tv to watch while I hand-stitched the bunnies faces, but just as I sat down with my tools and was ready to start, my daughters friend came to me and said:

"Aunty Kylie!  It's my mum's birthday today and I have no money to buy her a gift!  Could we make her a heart or something?"

Goodbye hand-stitching, hello surfing internet and browsing my craft books to find something to make.  Something quick.

These potholders from Martha Stewart fit the bill.  The only down side was that by the time we found a project and selected some fabric from my stash, I didn't have much time left before her mother arrived to pick her up.

I rushed the binding and just managed to take a quick photo before her mother made it out of the car and knocked on the door.

I am working again this weekend so plan on having a sewing day today, hand-stitching in front of the tv.  Front door is locked, phone is off the hook and my mobile has been buried inside the linen closet!  Maybe I should park my car in the next street over just in case?

Cute bunny softies

I just love this softie pattern freebie by Jenny from the Allsorts blog.  It is so easy to make and the result is so cute!  She even has a tutorial and pattern for the little dress.

I am making a few of these because they are so cute and I wanted to help out a fellow blogger's "Huggles for Kids" QLD flood appeal.  Alas I am too slow and have missed the boat for that one.  I started in late January but the softies I was making then were a bit of a disaster.  A pic below will show you the uninspiring mess I was making.

I realized while making these softies that windcheating fabric does not make good softies!  Well not this type.   Will paint some kind of face on these guys, make them some clothes and add ears or hair and see if they are good enough to send to Leanne for her on going Huggles for Kids campaign.

Hopefully if I pull my finger out, I can get all these guys finished and posted off to Leanne for  her next delivery.

pretty pouch and paper flower thingy

I have been laughing a lot the past three days and thought I would write a really funny post, but alas, zilch.  The minute I sat down to write in my blog I got a blank mind!  So it's just my sewing news today.

I think nearly running over a drunk that staggered out into the road in front of my car and also the wind ripping my car door out of my hands and knocking into the car next to mine, might have something to do with the laughter fading away today.

Also getting told off for committing a small act of kindness towards some strangers really wiped the smile off my face.

But guess what makes me happy?

Sewing this pouch made me happy!  A beautiful free pattern, with a clear tutorial, from Skip to My Lou.  I made a few at Christmas for gifts but forgot to take pictures!

The flower is a little project I found in this book.  It uses a toilet roll for the petals.  Pretty paper is glued to the toilet roll before 'slices' are cut out and semi flattened into the petal shapes.  Tissue paper is used to cover the petals and then its decorated as desired.  I am going to thread beads onto mine and hang it from the window.  I think it will look pretty with a cluster of these all hanging at different lengths.

 

Cheers!
Kylie

OWOH Winner Announcement!

Wow!  What a ride OWOH was.  I am still feeling a bit giddy from reading so many exciting blogs!  So many talented people out there who took my breathe away with their talent.

I was so inspired by all the art that I lost my sewing mojo for awhile and developed some arty mojo!  I dabbled in some bread dough making and sculpting that I have never tried before!  Here is a peek at the mess stuff I made!

 

Yes its bread dough but it looks like icing or fondant for cake decorating!  I used food colouring but could have used acrylic paint to get deeper colours!

Bread dough recipe I used is here if anyone wants it.  A big thank you to Jeanie Callaghan from the blog 'All My Artist Trading Cards' for the bread dough recipe.

Okay!  Now onto the winner of my OWOH giveaway!

The lucky winner is Heidi, a digital misfit from 'My Hiding Place in Cyberspace'!  

Congratulations Heidi!  An email is on its way to you. 

Thank you to all the wonderful people who entered my giveaway and I hope you all have a fantastic day.

Cheers!