Button Sewing Lesson

My son, who is 21 came into the craft room with a pair of trousers missing its button.  He sheepishly asked if I could fix it, then asked if it was something he could learn to do.  Of course he can.   We found a suitable button in the stash and he sat down and got the full lesson:  threading a needle, tying a knot, sewing on the button and finishing off.   He did an excellent job.

Adelaide Art Gallery

   

  

  

In May, when I was in the middle of doing the veggie quilt, Piers and I went to Adelaide.   Piers for work on a Monday, I tagged along and we flew over Sunday morning, came back Tuesday night.   The Art Gallery was great, quite a mix of styles, art movements and pieces, quite often on one wall.  They also didn't have the little notes beside each work giving details of artist, materials, etc.  There was a pocket at the side with a sheet with all the works listed.  I have to admit I don't always read the attached notes on art work, so it took me a little while to notice they weren't there.  It was a very nice gallery and well worth a visit if you are in Adelaide.

Ibis Auction

  

  

A recent commission of an ibis fell through, so have an ibis available, thought I would auction him.
The ibis is about 10cm tall, crocheted, and wrapped wire.  It is not a toy as wire and beads are involved.  Bidding will start at $40 (Australian Dollars), postage is free.  Leave bids on the blog, Facebook or Instagram in the comments section.  I will keep each platform updated with the highest bid.  The auction will end  Friday August 2nd at 7.30am (Melbourne time).

Little Bear's Cap

  

  

I made a little felt, cotton lined cap for the little bear.  There are gaps so his ears can come out.  After all, don't want to hide those lovely ears.

New Shoes.......Right, I'm Off

Best I get going with the rest of his outfit, he clearly has places to go, things to do.

Little Bear's Shoe

  

I made a little shoe for Little Bear.  The pattern came from this Knitted Animal Friends book.  I was hoping it would be just the right size, and it is close, just a little bit bigger than his foot.  A little bit of tweaking and blocking might help.  It is knitted in cotton, so I can't really shrink it much.  And of course I need to make another one.

An Apron

  



I need an apron for an upcoming workshop.  I bought this fabric from Fibresmith either last year or earlier this year, I was going to make a shirt.  I completely mucked up cutting out and piecing one of the parts. Completely angry with myself I packed it all away in the cupboard, not knowing how to fix the mistake and not wanting to buy more fabric.  So I patchworked pieces together and made an apron.  Backed with fabric from the stash and the ties were also in the stash.  Now I have an apron I am happy with, not a shirt I am cranky with.

Little Blue/Grey Budgie

  

Another little budgie finished.  At the start of making this flock I made all the feet first.  Then  cut, bent and taped the wire for the wings.  It makes each budgie a bit quicker to finish off.

Little Ted's Jumper

Or maybe a vest, I can't decide which.  The yarn is Wren & Ollie.  Mostly knitted with crocheted front edges.  It has been put aside while I think about jumper or vest.

In The Garden

  

  



I haven't done one of these for awhile.  The garden is looking lovely.  The irises are coming up, and lots of bulbs, probably because there isn't a dog to stomp and pee on them.  We have a magnolia in a pot and it has one flower at the moment.  it is a small flower it would easily ffit in the palm of your hand.

Mmmmmm, Chocolate Cake

I haven't made a chocolate cake in years.  This is Nigella Lawson's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe.

Quite The Ibis Convention

  

  

Must be good pickings around here.

New Button Jars

A little while ago I went to IKEA and bought new jars for my buttons.  The last ones were not quite large enough for the white buttons.  These are much nicer jars, the bamboo lids go with other things in the craft room.  And the Tawny Frogmouth has a nice flat surface to sit on.

Another Ibis

I am making another Ibis.  I stop crocheting at this point and attach the legs.  It means I can secure them inside so the bird is stable on it's lovely long legs.

Little Old Bear

  

I bought a little bear on Ebay.  He was in need of some TLC.  The first picture shows how he arrived, not with an open tummy, I did that to see the state of his squeaker.  There was only a remnant of one eye and under the light I could see that he had blue eyes.  He immediately looked much cheerier when new eyes were attacked.  Instead of a squeaker I put in a growler.  He is a little small for one, no now his tummy is a little flat.  But once I make him some clothes, that will not show.  He is a very patient bear waiting in the craft room.

Knitting Machine Bag

  



Easter was about day 20 on the 100DayProject.  In an attempt to stop eating chocolate and sugar, over the last several years, we do not buy chocolate eggs, we choose something else.  I have done different classes and this year I chose an Addi Knitting Machine. I have been umming and erring over one of these for a while.  It knits a tube and I didn't know what I would use a tube for, it can also knit a straight piece, but I haven't tried that.  But I can still knit a tube and then steek it afterwards.
So it needed a bag so I could store it with the legs attached.  I used the box as a guide.  Hexagon base, with a piece of fleece covered cardboard for strength, and simple drawstring closure.  It fits neatly into the craft room on top of the drawers.

Stephanie, Paul and Duncan

  

They came home with me from Can Do Books on Thursday for a visit and a bit of TLC.  They were the first figures I made to stand on their own.  They don't quite do that and need to lean against something.  They needed repair in strengthening their legs, especially Duncan, the wires had become twisted and unstable.  But they are fixed now, so back to the shop they go.  I was always pleased with how the shoes and sandals turned out with these figures.

Ibis, aka Bin Chicken

  

  

Crochet, embroidery and wrapped wire.  He is about 10cm tall.  I seem to back to see a bird, make a bird.  We went for a drive to Geelong yesterday and there was an Ibis in the park where we had lunch.

Little Budgies

Been making some little knitted budgies while working out what is next.

Did Some Dyeing

The yarn on the left, the fabric and the ric rac at the top are dyed from our fuchsia little tree.  It was covered in flowers, so I picked them to see what dye I would get.  There is a hint of pink in there.  The actual pink yarn and ric rac are dyed from rhubarb.