Love This

I was browsing through the fabulous on line craft store Three Potato Four website this morning, which is a great way to kill some time if you're bored, or even if you're supposed to be working...

Anyway I found this adorable 3 ceramic piece measuring cup set from Piyo. Isn't it fab? And at a mere $ 28, why I'd be crazy NOT to buy it!

New Banner

I decided to add a new banner to the site today. It's taken from a photo I took a while ago in our back garden, a big tree with millions of berries all over it. It was easier than I thought to 'bannerise' it using Photoshop so now I know I can do it any time I want. Hurray!

All the sites I go to have lovely banners, like Posie gets Cozy, Wiksten Made, Homebug etc. and I always wondered how they did it. This whole template thing can get a bit complicated sometimes, and sometimes I'm afraid to monkey around with the settings too much in case I do something really horrible, and the whole thing goes up in flames. I think I'll just leave well enough alone now, and make tomato soup that will last me the week. Hurray :)

I Heart Paris

I think I've gotten a bit carried away with the making squashy hearts thing. I've made 3 in this pattern alone (which I am pleased to say have all found good homes!). As you can tell by the Eiffel Tower, the fabric has a Parisian feel to it, and because the grahpics aren't too large, it really lends itself well to making smaller items. To make these hearts extra special I added 2 cinnamon sticks to each, and when the scent fades a bit, I just break a section of it, which doesn't affect the overall shape of the heart at all, but releases a wonderful new burst of the winter spice.

New Knitting Bag

This is a really simple, really quick drawstring bag I ran up last weekend. I wasn't feeling well and I didn't leave the house, so naturally I got really bored and had to do something. I grabbed a few lumps of fabric I had in my box: linen, Japanese 'music town' fabric (from Matatabi at etsy) and some yellow gingham. I didnt even measure anything. I just cut out two rectangles of linen, cut the music town fabric in half, and sewed up the edges. Then I made a yellow gingham tube, turned it inside out and sewed along the top and bottom, making sure to keep the ends open for the cord to fit through. Simple. I now use it as a knitting bag, to keep all my wool and needles together, but it would be also perfect to bring on holiday as a small laundry bag, or flip flop bag.

How to Become a Famous Blogger!

I think this cartoon by Dave Walker is hilarious. Thank you to Jessica from How about Orange who featured one of Dave's cartoons on her cool orangey blog last week. Check out Dave's site, weblogcartoons.com for more great cartoons.

Good luck Kat!

I have just received an email from the lovely Kat over at Secrets of a Butterfly , whose blog I regularly read, to say that she has opened her etsy shop, also called Secrets of a Butterfly (of course!).

Kat specialises in making adorable vintage hand made cards, ATCs, beautiful lace bracelets and other treasures. It's really obvious that Kat puts a LOT of time, thought and effort into everything she makes and I'm sure her shop will be a huge success. Check it out.

Gingham Hearts

I started making these initialed gingham hearts for Christmas yesterday. I know Christmas is still miles away but I want to be a bit organised this year, and I didn't know how these would go, I thought it might take me 8 weeks to get it right! As it turned out I think they're coming along really nicely. The one with the letter 'T' is for my sister-in-law and the one with the 'R' is for her son.

To make the hearts I cut out 2 heart shapes from the red gingham, then I cut out a large letter'T' from the navy denim (leftover from the denim tote I made). I then cut out a smaller 'T' from the red felt, and sewed a white heart shaped button onto it. Then, because I used denim which is stretchy and will fray (unlike the felt), I sewed the 'T' onto one of the heart shapes using zig-zag stitch. Next I sewed the red 'T' onto the larger denim 'T', so the navy denim becomes a boarder around the red letter helping it to stand out more against the red and white check fabric. I then sewed the two hearts, and the hanging ribbon together leaving a gap to stuff it with cotton wool. I also stuffed a few cloves in there too to make it smell Christmasy, before stitching up the gap. They're really simple and fairly quick to make. If I'm not completely sick of them over the next few weeks I might make some more for around the house for all year round. I might make one for the kitchen adding coffee beans instead of cloves, and a nice change to the usual lavender hearts.

Halloween at Belle & Boo

I have just received my latest delivery from Mandy at Belle and Boo. I love Halloween and I just couldn't resist this gorgeous print from Mandy's etsy shop. And, as if the print wasn't enough, the package also comes with 3 Boo Halloween tags. I can't wait to get home this evening and add these to my Hallween decorations (yes, I do decorate my house for Halloween, much to my husband's embarassment)

Take me to Marakesh

I just have to give this blog a special mention: it’s called My Marakesh. I stumbled upon it a few months ago, and was completely awed by its contents. Finding it was like discovering a beautiful (Moorish) secret garden.
The blog is about an American lady Maryam and her family’s efforts to build and open a guest house in Marakesh called ‘The Peacock Pavillions’ (they have 9 peacocks!). Maryam’s blog is crammed with the most colourful, vibrant photos you’ve ever seen (like the 2 above). Her work is so evocative of an exotic Morocco, you can almost smell the Jasmine and spices.
She captures not only her own family’s lives, but also the magic of the whole country. Think beautiful tiled fountains, bustling markets, coloured glass tea-sets, and crumbling, elegant French coffee houses
So, if you have a few minutes to spare why not visit her incredible site, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Yummy Yummy Strawberry Smoothie

Oh I had fun today. It is a gloriously sunny autumn day here, it's hard to believe its October. Anyway, first thing this morning I went into town and bought a delicious Yankee Candle in 'Jasmine Green Tea', which I have been burning since I got home. It's so nice and fresh and it really, really does smell like jasmine green tea, which is awful to drink, but as a fragrance is so uplifting and clean (if that makes sense), it's delectable. Even my husband said it smelled nice, and usually he can't stand any kind of air freshner or scented candle. Praise indeed.

I also bought strawberries, probably one of the last of the summer batches (don't they look luscious?), and made completely gorgeous strawberry smoothies. Although I did cheat slightly, as you can see by the photo, I couldn't help adding some vanilla ice cream. I just adore strawberries with vanilla ice cream, so I had to include some in my otherwise very healthy smoothie!

Linen Bag

I made this lovely linen bag about a month ago. It's made from biscuit colour Irish linen (which I nabbed on sale), accented with pretty Japanese fabric showing autumn trees. I used simple cream coloured fabric for the interior, and more Japanese autumn trees for the row of pockets. I made fabric buttons in two different sizes, a large one on the front for the clasp and 4 tiny ones for the base of the handles. I also stamped the words 'apple..leaf' on sewing tape and stuck that on the front too.

This bag is great because I made it extra big. I could carry all of my groceries in this, or stuff a blanket and some food in it and go for a picnic in the local park. Autumn is my favourite season and I think the autumn trees will look fab this season.

Tissue Covers

I love these tissue covers. They are so quick and easy to make, plus you don't need much fabric to make them. They're great to keep in your bag, your desk drawer, your car, anywhere really. They look so much better than the plastic wrappers mini tissues usually come in when you buy them. These are all made from Japanese fabric (I just can't get enough), with contrasting interiors. The pink blossom and clocks one is lined with linen, the french kitchen one is lined with blue gingham, and the navy one with the trees is lined in yellow gingham, and is a perfect match for the denim bag I just posted about. If I make my sewing really, really neat, they can even be reversible.

It's really amazing, since I made one for myself, everyone wants one, so I've now made quite a few, but I don't mind because they don't take much time and you can just shove them into an envelope to post on to someone.

New Denim Tote

Well, finally, here are a few pictures of the denim tote bag I have been working on for the last week. I brought it into work with me today, and it was great. I made loads of pockets inside for my phone, ipod, keys, train ticket etc. and it also had plenty of room for my book, tissues, yoga magazine and all the other junk I lug around with me every day. In short, I'm really quite pleased with it. I'm particularly pleased with the bright yellow gingham interior, I hate when a bag has a dark lining and you can't find anything in it. Nothing will be able to hide in this yellow neon cavern! I'm also really happy with the covered buttons on the front, one for the clasp, and one stuck on the front yellow pocket. I cut out 2 trees from the Japanese fabric and squashed them into my button mould, it's so easy, but it looks great.

However as I said before, my camera is acting up and I'm not too thrilled about the photos. They came out really blurry. I could photograph a close up of a bird in a neighbour's tree, but it refuses to capture anything remotely close up, it drives me crazy, but it's probably user error!

Good luck Jenny

Best of luck today to the very talented Jenny over at Wiksten whose fabulously creative blog I regularly read. Jenny is opening her etsy shop today where she will be selling her beautiful handmade clothing designs. Jenny has been very careful not to give to much away, but I think we can expect pretty tunic tops with peter pan collars, or simple A-line dresses and skirts in adorable fabrics. Unfortunately, Jenny says that due to the limited amount of fabric she has, there will only be a handful of each garment made, so ladies form an orderly queue!

Ooops

I know I haven't updated this blog in a while. I've been really busy sewing, ripping out stitches, and re-sewing all over again! At the moment I am working on a really cute dark denim tote bag with bright yellow gingham lining, with loads of pockets of course. I also recently finished a really large tote bag using lovely Irish linen and some Japanese fabric I bought from Matatabi at etsy. I've been trying to take photos of everything to put up here but my evil camera is really acting up, I hate it, so I haven't been able to photograph anything I've been working on.
I've also discovered the joy of making tissue covers, you know the little pouches to put mini handbag sized tissues into? I've made a few so far using Japanese fabrics and some linen leftovers. They're so pretty and of course functional as we prepare for autumn colds and flus. One of my aunts saw one I made for my mam and asked if I would make her one two, so I'm thrilled. I have 2 to give her, but I want to photo them before I lose them forever, but I can't photo them because of the evil camera....
It would be so great if I didn't have to work, then I could stay at home in front of the fire completing my sewing and embroidery projects as I listen to audio books, pure bliss. oh well.

Funky Brollies

As part of the whole 'summer rain' theme I've got going on here, I thought I'd mention the online umbrella boutique that is Umbrella Art. Umbrella Art is an English website that sells really pretty and unusual brollies. I'm so bored of looking around and seeing an ocean of black umbrellas held aloft by people dressed head to toe in black. Who says boring colours are the price we must pay for function? I truly believe functional objects can also be beautiful (think zakka). Anyway back to the brollies, Umbrella Art can supply you with a brolly printed in just about any image you care to mention, whether you're in to fine art, Elvis, chocolate, roses, butterflies, frogs, cars, or any combination! I think my favourite is the umbrella with the chocolates. Prices start at around € 24 for a mini umbrella and around € 30 for a large umbrella, surely a small price to pay to 'find sunshine for your rainy days'!

PataPri Prints

I'm really liking these bold graphic prints from PataPri at etsy. PataPri is graphic designer turned silk-screen printer Yuko Uemura originally from Tokyo, Japan, now living in Chicago. Yuko says she gets her inspiration for her print designs from the shapes and colours found in nature. Indeed many of her print designs feature trees, fruit, penguins and butterflies, as these photos here show. Yuko's shop mainly stocks tea towels, because as she says herself, 'everybody has a kitchen'. I particularly love the bright crispness of this bed linen set printed on high quality cotton.

Prices for Yuko's designs start at $ 14 for a tea towel and go up to $ 180 for the duvet set.

Blue Umbrella

This is a lovely painting by the artist Joe Russell called 'Blue Umbrella'. It shows a little girl in lovely orange shoes and summer frock holding/struggling with a huge blue umbrella. I think after the summer we've just had, this is an image everyone can relate to. This painting recently sold in the Blue Leaf Gallery in Fairview, but they have a few more of Joe's excellent paintings in stock. Prices start at € 650, nab one quick!

Zakkattack

How fabulous are these pictures? These images are taken from a book called 'School Bags and Zakka Goods' it's a Japanese craft book I have recently ordered from Chocolateswirl on etsy. Apparently it has been shipped and I cannot wait to receive it! According to Chocolateswirl it has 57 patterns for the cutest 'drawstring bags, bags, shoe bags, lunch bags, place mats, bottle bags, tote bags, pouches, towels, tissue cases, and more! Some extra patterns such as a smock, apron, backpack, towel dress, pool cap, and pen cases as well.'

I already have a small collection of fab Japanese fabrics that I've blogged about before, and I've been wondering what to do with them, I think this book will provide the answer. I intend to make all manner of tote bags, mini purses, and even tissue cases. I'm really loving all things zakka at the moment. Zakka, if you dont know is a type of crafting from Japan. According to Wikipedia, Zakka goods must be ultra cute, and commonly feature unusual fabrics perhaps sporting animal motifs, such as elephants, hedghogs, ladybugs, bunnies and (prefarably cycling) polar bears, or even mushrooms. French motifs are also popular, displaying images of the Eiffel Tower, and cups of coffee, or pastries. However for a good to be considered Zakka, it is not enough to be incredibly cute, oh no, it must also be practical and easy to use. You must be able to fit a decent amount of groceries and personal junk into your tote, your wallet must be able to contain all of your credit cards, coins and train tickets, your tissues must be encased for their protection, and your lunch bag should be compartmentalised to keep napkins and drinks and food all separate.

It is this marriage of aesthetic beauty, enhanced functionality and striking individuality (Believe me you will never meet anyone with the same customized cheque-book cover as you!), that makes Zakka so endearing and guarantees that this Japanese craft is here to stay. Needless to say etsy (I know, I know, I'm obsessed) is crawling with Zakka style crafters, like the fabulous Florspace, as well as sellers who trade in Zakka supplies, like Chocolateswirl who sells pattern books and Matatabi who sells fabulous Japanese fabrics, so go on, Zakka up your life!

Ha'penny Bridge

A photo of the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin that I recently took. Not a cloud in the sky, and the Liffey is so still.

matatabi at etsy

How did I survive without etsy? Here are pictures of two pieces of fabric I recently purchased from Matatabi over at etsy ($6.50 for a fat quarter). Matatabi has a fantastic selection of fabulous Japanese fabric with the cutest prints you've ever seen, as well as sewing tape, which is also ultra cute, but is something we don't really have here. Sewing tape is usually printed with a repeat design or motif and can be sewn onto bags, purses, just about anything you make really and is a lovely finighing touch for your crafts.

I am thinking of making a simple denim tote and using a strip of the elephant print across the top, with a matching coin purse for inside. Swit swoo. I'll post up pictures when I get them made.

Lucien Freud Exhibition

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is running some pretty interesting exhibitions at the moment. I'm looking forward to attending the Lucien Freud exhibition this Friday. The exhibition has been running since the beginning of June and concludes on the 2nd of September, so it's my last chance really to have a look.

According to the IMMA website this exhibition: "comprises some 50 paintings and 20 works on paper and etchings from the last six decades, several being completed just months prior to the exhibition and others never shown before in a public venue. Best known for his portraits and nudes, Freud’s subjects include his family, friends, lovers and fellow artists."

I'm not a huge fan of Freud, but it's hard to pass up an opportunity to visit the solo exhibition of such a highly regarded 'living legend'.

While I'm there I will also be sure to check out the exhibition of Anne Madden, whose work I really do admire, in fact, I prefer her work to her husband's Louis Le Brocquy. Anne's exhibition comprises 60 works, spanning the 1950s to the present and includes some of her best known works such as the series Clare Land (1967), Megaliths, Monoliths and Doorways (1970s), as well as some of Anne's early pieces of sculpture.

More information on these exhibitions, as well as future exhibitions are available from the IMMA website.

Dave West

This painting is called Fishing Boats and was painted by the artist Dave West. I really like his style of painting and the palette he uses. You can almost reach out and touch the water and smell the brine in this painting, it's really excellent. I was lucky enough to attend Dave's recent solo exhibition opening during the summer, and I was really impressed by the quality of Dave's work. The few remaining paintings that weren't sold in his solo exhibition can be viewed/purchased in the Blue Leaf Gallery in Fairview Dublin 3. Prices start from around €750.

Little Audrey

This is Audrey the corgi. She belonged to Alicia from Posie gets cozy. Unfortunately, poor Audrey has passed away. Alicia and Andy thought she had hurt her back, but the MRI scan showed she had cancer along her spine and in her abdomen, and unfortunately to prevent her further suffering they had to put her to sleep. Audrey seems to have been a great little dog and often featured on Alicia's blog. Alicia and Andy are both understandably heartbroken to have lost her, and I'm sure our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.

Purple Dahlias

Isn't this lovely. It's a huge purple dahlia growing in my back garden. The colour is so vibrant, which is excellent when everything is so grey, it cheers me up to look out my window and see this shocking purple, and if the sun should snoop out from behind a cloud for a few minutes, it looks even better.

Space Cover

This is a cushion cover (front and back) I embroidered over the weekend. The rocket and flying saucers are Jenny Hart transfers from Sublime Stitching, which I mentioned earlier. I'm going to give the cushion to my nephew for his first birthday on Thursday. I hope he likes it!

Sublime Jenny

Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart (available from amazon.co.uk) is a fantastic embroidery book. It is a ringbound collection of iron-on embroidery patterns, but not just any old embroidery patterns. Jenny's designs are retro, funky, fun and fabulous. As Jenny says 'This aint your gramma's embroidery!'

Jenny's inspiring patterns include retro rockets, chinese lanterns, dogs, cats, cocktails skulls, unicorns, rollerskates and mexican wrestlers, to name but a few.

The patterns are so easy to use, you pull out the page with your pattern, place it over the fabric and iron over it. Simple. Each pattern can be used up to 9 times, which is tremendous value for money.

Jenny also has a great website: sublimestitching.com (where these pictures come from), which she frequently updates with exciting new patterns that be purchased diretly from the site.

Sublime Stitching is also a fab resource for people who have never stitched anything in their lives, because she includes full instructions on everything you need to know to create your own masterpiece. She discusses the the tools of embroidery - fabric, needles, thread, hoop, etc. and also gives full instructions on how to do different stitches like chain stitch, blanket stitch and French knots, among others.

I've used her patterns to great effect, on pillow cases, cushion covers and I'm now working on a tea towel, strewn with frilly tea cups and tea pots. Before long my entire house is going to be crammed with embroidered cherries, margaritas and poodles, my husband will be pleased.