Over the line

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know what happened to the first half of '09? I can't believe it is July already....better get used to it I suppose.

We had a great week away. The beach is always relaxing and I needed a de-stresser. How would you feel after this...... Oops!! .....You can drive on the beach, in places, but things can go wrong. Makes for an interesting walk though.

On a calmer note ....

First seagull that actually stood still long enough.

Pin dolls are completed and the pattern will be available very soon. This is the cover ..........

They turned out really cute..........I guess they could just be collectable mini dolls if you didn't want to stick pins in them, eitherway they are fun to make and would be great gifts for crafty friends. There will be ready made versions available online too.

Australian Homespun magazine has asked me to contribute another project, so I'm busy drawing up some ideas for that....I love doing those projects. It won't be out till next Feb, but everything needs to be ready by the end of this month....I'm such a sucker for punishment!

Doll Club project No.3 has been sent mid June....hope everyone is enjoying making up Fairy Queen. I would love to see your finished work, so don't be shy, send a pic and I'll pop it on the blog for show and tell.

I have decided to sell some of the dolls made especially for magazine projects to make way for newer ones. These dolls are the originals that were used for photography in Australian Homespun & Aust. Country Threads mags. They will be available in the ready made section of the Wattlebee Shop as soon as I can get them on ( next few days). If you are interested in any in particular please let me know before they are posted. Also, I will be adding some of the original Doll Club dolls in the ready made section as we are running out of room in the studio.

Until next time,
Deb

brrrrrrrr!

Hi everyone,
Just a quick note -
I'm not complaining...I always wish for the cooler weather, but it is surprisingly cold at the moment. I'm sure it's a direct arctic wind that blows. Out came the black tights, boots and maybe even a pair of gloves could be put to good use in the morning. Actually I love it when it's cooler. We don't usually have much of a winter and quite often anything heavier than a light coat is a waste so I bought flannelette sheets again today ( last purchase probably twenty years ago) and a new yummy blanket. Bed all made and looks inviting.....Medium ( a favourite tv show)is on tonight and I do have an essay due Monday so unfortunately not an early night ahead.

This is truly wacky, but I was cooking dinner the other night and saw this.........

The Yin Yang of onions! Maybe you need to see it from a distance....I thought it was amazing.

Okay, back to crafty things. I've been working at finishing the last pin angel and she should be ready to unveil very soon....that will be my next post.

Take care

Deb

Weekend endeavours

Hi everyone,

This weekend is almost over....they always go far too quickly! I do have something to show for it though. I finished Pin doll No.2. She is a little cutie and I'm making quite a few for our Etsy Shop.

We had our first sale on Etsy, and lovely feedback, which was pretty exciting.

Here she is - all 5 inches of her ( I've been playing with Photoshop and having fun with brushes).

She has a tiny elastic topped pocket in the front for small things like buttons that you may like to keep safe while sewing. I love sewing with felt, so naturally I use it when I can and I had the perfect colours for her wings. It's officially the first day of winter tomorrow in this part of the globe so we are starting to think 'cosy'.

I would like to show you a couple of beautiful dolls made by Angela in Brazil. She has used a Wattlebee pattern called Daisy and made it in her own style. A very talented lady...thanks Angela.

Took a train into the city on Saturday to visit the Qld Art Gallery's latest exhibit - American Impressionism and Realism. Absolutely loved it! I had seen The China Project during the week with a school excursion, so we had a quick look again in GoMA ( Gallery of Modern Art) then across to the Impressionists. Certainly nothing like in a book, you really appreciate seeing these beautiful works in real life.
We all agreed our favourite was a painting by Charles Conder titled -Departure of the Orient- Circular Quay.

Today was quieter and a little cooler but all in all a great weekend.
The boy's went fishing again...they called to say it was raining where they were, so that was a bit of a shame. I'm sure they had fun anyway...better crabbing so I'm told.

Well, almost time for bed and setting alarms..... I don't want to sleep in and late for school. It's so easy to do that when all the early risers are away. Everything will be back to normal Monday and I'll be looking towards the next weekend.

Hope your weekend was a beauty.

Deb

Pins & thingmybobs

Hi Everyone,

Can't believe it's taken me so long to write but I have been working on some things and at least now I have something to show. This little item was a lot of fun...it actually only took a couple of hours to put together from drawing the pattern to finish, but there will be 3 sizes and styles in the one pattern...so I'm pretty excited about showing the whole set when ready ( nearly there).

Here's a peek...........

I love working with felt....it's quick and always looks neat, warm too! The weather is really starting to cool down on this side of the planet. Blankets and slippers are being employed and yummy cooler weather comfort foods such as braised lamb shanks are on the menu. Did I mention porridge.........I love porridge, very good for you too.
This is the top of Inskip Point at Rainbow Beach. You can see two of the large barges that go across to Fraser Island. It's quite a wide expanse of beach and drops off to the water so you can only see part of the barges. This was taken a couple of weeks ago and the weather was perfect. I spent some time taking macro photos of mangrove shoots, drift wood and water patterns on the sand as inspiration for some Collograph printing plates that I am working on. All new stuff but I'm learning.
Just prior to that the boys spent some time building a back fence...they did a great job. Also went mad pruning!

Holly was playing catch and release with soldier crabs. They were absolutely everywhere until you moved and then they would quickly dig into the sand and hide.

Well, off to sew some more little thingmybobs.

Happy weekend

Deb

a little more...

Hi Everyone,

Feeling pretty good even though it's only Monday. The weather is glorious and it looks like a good week ahead. Health on track and I've been trying to fit some sewing into the mix. Totally forgot a doctors appointment, remembered my hair appointment and started a new bag and it is only Monday! ( lovely pattern I am test sewing for school). I'll take a photo if it turns out okay.

It's about time I popped a free pattern on here so that's my next project. I'm thinking Christmas ornament? Any suggestions? More on this soon.

Here is a peek at Little Bird complete. She was so much fun to make. I made her a little taller so that you can arrange her with other dolls etc for display. She keeps me company at the moment as I have her on the shelf above my computer.

And a little detail..........

Well, I'm off to bed now so....

Sweet Dreams

Deb

Little Bird

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you a little update on my latest design - Little Bird....here is a sneak peek. I'm delighted with how she has turned out. Sometimes a design draft doesn't always translate very well in fabric so I'll be very proud to send her off to club members in August.

I used bird wings as inspiration for her hair and she will have a lovely little bird in hand.

With only 4 months till our grandchild is born I've been very busily drawing up cot quilt designs. So many beautiful fabrics to choose from but I may wait until he or she is born before I decide on prints and colours. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it but I would like the quilt to suit the child. Found a beautiful fabric with gorgeous little bugs on it that I love ( they have beautiful fabric for everything). More on the quilt soon.

Meanwhile, back to work.

Deb

What's Next?

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all enjoyed a relaxing Easter break. The coast was cool and fresh after all the rain and surprisingly the days were pretty good with rain mostly falling at night....... perfect sleeping weather.

We had plenty of long walks and explored rock pools which are forming again on the beach.....used to be there years ago ......natural cycles and all that! Every man ( and his dog), as the saying goes, was there too!

This is our little black dog Lily( she thinks she's human), who just loves a run on the beach, actually she loves a swim too.

The boys caught quite a few mud crabs so we were pretty spoiled. The Easter bunny found us, bit worried he may have had to row across flooded rivers etc, as we only just made it home before roads were cut due to the flooding.

Just before the holidays I made Labne which is a Lebanese cheese made from yoghurt. If you like cheese and have a savoury tooth you will love this and it's so easy to make. I took a photo to show and used this recipe - http://www.sca.org.au/bacchus_wood/A&S/Yoghurt%20Cheese%20Balls/Yoghurt.htm Warm crust bread and Labne spread thickly....yum!!

If you try it let me know what you think.

This little Sugar plum angel will be on the website soon. She was a project in Australian Country Threads many moons ago, so in case you don't have early copies ( probably 4-5 years ago) of that magazine you will find her in the Wattlebee shop. She's very sweet and doesn't mind me arranging her legs in silly poses when It's time for a moments distraction.

Tomorrow hopefully will be another day for sewing. I have No. 4 project Little Bird to make up and she will be the next show and tell.

Take care

Deb