Tuesday 27 April 2010

Vintage roses..custom hat heading for Germany.

Front view of Coffee & Roses fully reversable sun hat. West German pottery vase in background.
Back view of hat taken amongst my frangipani trees.

A couple of weeks ago there was an Etsy Conversation email waiting for me. It was a request for a custom made version of one of my vintage style reversable sunhats. How exciting my first Etsy custom request, & all the way from a lovely lady in Germany. The customer told me that she would like a hat in pinks & creams, so I hit the op shops & trawled through my fabric stash until I had some options to photograph & email to her. She suggested her favourite two from a list of eight possible choices, then told me her hat size/ head measurement & boomshanka the hat was complete in six days. I have posted it up on my Etsy store today for her to purchase. I hope she likes it!? I do.

Friday 23 April 2010

while we are on the subject..

Pincushions, pincushions flying around the globe..will they get the love they need nobody knows!(don't be alarmed...this not a serious attempt at poetry).

This is the sweet little pincushion I made for the Foxs Lane pincushion swap. I made this little lovely for Little Betty Designs whom I'm told loves the colour red. Firstly I patched together a lot of my off cuts, then I stitched the heart shape & stuffed. After that I stitched ribbon around the outer edge, made a cutiepie ribbon & button bow, then lastly decided (too much is never enough) it needed some cream coloured running stitch detail. I was very pleased with myself for posting it off 4days before the deadline.

Above is the totally spunky pincushion that I managed to win in a dorothy bills give away. Thanks so much Eleesa, I love everything about it. The green vintage fabric is just the kind of thing I weekly scour the op shops for. Lady you have a great style!

Monday 19 April 2010

hooray, hooray...it's here!

Extra groovy pincushion from Kootoyoo
Goodies...I'm a lucky old ducky!

I met the postie on the way to my letterbox, he had fanged past on his motorbike which disappointed me..I thought oh well fingers crossed maybe tomorrow. BUT, he hopped off his bike & proceeded to walk towards our place calling out "presents, presents"! Yippee! I told him about the pincushion swap, how I had sent one that I had made & that I had been waiting on this little treasure. Mike the Postie said he was very good a making pincushions when he was a young'n. The back of the brown paper package said it was from Kootoyoo...coolness! one of my faves.


Thank you Kootoyoo for the mind blowing bucket of popcorn pincushion. I love how you have stitched together the red & white strips of fabric to make stripes, the way you have stitched the puffy white popcorn shapes at the top, the Aunty Cookie face at the base, & the real popcorn pinheads..very surreal, Salvador Dali would be proud. So very kind of you to add the goodies: love the handmade retro glasses case, very handy as I am a four eyes. The little concertina fabric covered note book is also gorgeous. Thank you x 1000. You have truly made my day.I was jumping up & down with excitement. Thanks also to Kate of foxs lane for organising this mega swaparama, my first ever & totaly enjoyable.

Monday 12 April 2010

Chasing butterflies.


Great little pink linen vintage tea towel find in immaculate condition just begging to be stitched up into a little pretty frock. I'm loving this print, it is everything I love especially the white daisies which used to be a bit of a signature of mine. I backed this one with a sweet yellow cotton gingham which gives it a kind of 1950's feel. Mmm makes me feel like a frolic in a meadow chasing butterflies.

Monday 5 April 2010

Charlie Quilt...I'm loving it!

decorative hand stitching in green & cream thread
quilt laid out on the outdoor table on our front deck.


Dropped this quilt off to the gorgeous local store & gallery Mooch Inside on Saturday morning & I couldn't wait to show it off to the lovely ladies there. I think out of all the cot quilts I have made to date,this one is definitely my favourite. I love the bright sunny colours & the Japanese red riding hood print. Thanks to my neighbour & friend Charles for gifting me his favourite old shirt so I could chop it up into 6"& 6" squares. It is the most beautiful orange sateen weave cotton with white Asian style chrysanthemums printed....this makes the quilt even more special as I love it when things have a past life.