I bought myself an early Christmas present...

I decided after all to treat myself to a DSLR, an early Christmas present to myself and I am so glad that I did. My kitty, however, has show some loathing towards it! I decided on a Canon EOS 550D with a twin lens kit. I'm still learning to use it (I've mastered the auto settings, but really want to learn the manual settings). Once I've done that I'll plan a few trips up the Blue Mountains and to a few other places to test the camera out a bit more.

After looking around for a suitable camera bag, one that would hold the camera body with a lens attached, plus room for 1-2 other lenses and not finding a one that I liked I turned to the Internet. The problem with all the camera bags in the shops was that they looked like a camera bag - an unmistakable sign for "I'm carrying around expensive equipment". That was definitely was not what I was looking for. I found this nice bag that looked big enough and more like a handbag from Camera Chick:

The bag is "B Hobo" by Kelly Moore. It fits my camera and spare lens and has room for my wallet etc so I wont need to carry around a second bag when I want to carry my camera around with me. It's just the right size and is well made too, but it does need a few good outings to really test it out.

If you have any photography tips or have/know of any good photography blogs, leave a comment below.

And here is a photo of my kitty, just coz:

 

Have a good Christmas :)

To get a DSLR or not?

I have been tossing up between getting a DSLR or not lately. I love the idea of having much more creative control over my photos, but am daunted by it at the same time. There is so much to learn in order to use the full potential of the cameras. I have used them a few times when my friends have had theirs out and loved it. But I still can't decide. I don't know if the investment is worth it for me...

You see, I bought myself a Panasonic Lumix TZ10 last year with the money I got for Christmas.

I have used it more than I usually would and have learnt how to use some of the features, but not all of the features. So, I'm not sure if I should learn how to use my point and shoot to it's full potential before I dive into the world of DSLR's or not. I was thinking that if I did get a DSLR, I would get a Canon EOS 550D.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Help me make this decision!

Taking a hiatus

I will be taking a break from blogging for a while, mostly due to the fact that I wont have much time to make anything in the next few months. If I happen to come across of anything of interest, I may blog about it for your viewing pleasure, but we will have to wait and see.

But in the mean time, take care and Happy Crafting!

For the love of Pinterest!

I know I haven't been very crafty lately, or very active on the blogosphere either. I start a new job soon and there is a lot to prepare for that and I've been catching up with some old friends, so that hasn't left much time for creating. Or when I do have the time, its not suitable to craft (as other people in the house are generally asleep) or I make little progress that it's not worth showing you.

Despite that lack of crafting, I still have been trying to get that creative and inspirational hit. Thanks to Pinterest, I have been able to get that instant gratification from the creativity of others! Just warning you, it can become addictive - mainly because it is full of beautiful, inspirational and creative ideas.

Whilst I have never spent that long on Pinterest, I can see how that is possible!

Happy pinning!

Ton of Wool Project

 I just pledged my support to get a Ton of Wool of local corma fleece to be processed for DIY'ers like us.

Love Lace Exhibit at The Powerhouse Museum

Today I went to the Love Lace exhibit at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Overall it was a fantastic exhibit showcase people's different interpretations of lace from all over the world. And we aren't just talking about lace in the textile terms. There were exhibits made from old cars, paper, fences & wire and ceramics. It is well worth the visit if you can make it, but be prepared for a few wierd ones, like the uterus knitted from human hair!

Sydney Fabric Stores

Recently I bought some new sewing patterns that I wanted to try out, but Spotlight and Lincraft didnt have any fabric that tickled my bones so I plan to head into the city this Saturday to try and find some fabric. I'm looking for stores mainly int he CBD area. So far I've found Tessuti (both the Surry Hills and the city store) and the Fabric Store in Surry Hills.

Are there any others out there that I should know about and will be open on a Saturday. I'm looking for stores that sell cotton (woven) and knit fabrics.

Thanks for any suggestions

Happy crafting :)
P x

Lace & embroidery floss dyeing

I mentioned in my last post that I went to the Craft & Sewing Show at Newcastle last weekend, and whilst I was there I picked up some craft dyes from Starr Laces & Ribbons. These are concentrate liquid dyes that will dye any natural fibre and are non-toxic. All you need to do is dilute the dye (I used 1 part dye to 4 parts water), then paint the dye on or immerse the fibre article in the dye and then heat set the dye. You can heat set the dye in your microwave (small items take a minute or less) or on the stove top if you want to dye/heat set at the same time. The best thing about these dyes is that you dont need to throw out the left overs once you've finished because they will keep pretty much indeffinately! You can even mix the dyes, make them up in different strengths etc to get whatever colour you want. I bought some bows so I could make a refernce sample for the dyes.

I'm pretty happy with these colours but think I might get a dark blue and brown to give me a larger choice of colours.

I also used some plain white embroidery floss/thread and dyed them using the dyes. I did use four different colours below even though it is hard to see. I'm looking forward to using them in an upcoming embroidery project.


I do reccommend that if you like dyeing lace, ribbon, embroidery floss, fabric etc that you check out the range dyes available. They are resonably priced and super simple to use!

Happy crafting :)

Where is my mojo?

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last wrote a blog post. I seem to have lost my mojo lately - maybe because I have not been feeling the best thanks to a nasty virus that has been doing the rounds. I went to the Craft and Sewing Show up at Newcastle last weekend to help inspire me and kicked my mojo back into working order - and it seems to have worked. I been working on putting this quilt together that I started way back in April!

It's coming along well so far - here is a picture of the blocks laid out ready to be sewn together.


Sorry for the poor quality, I took it on my phone. But hopefully you will be able to see the finished version sooner rather than later. The blocks are all sewn together, I now need to add the borders and sew the backing together. Then I can quilt it! Which I have to admit I'm kind of nervous about as this will be the first quilt where I don't "stitch in the ditch" and will be the first quilt that isn't destined for a wall.

And as we are talking about mojo, my knitting mojo seems to be on vacation. I've had no desire to knit lately as well as no desire to buy any more yarn!

Happy crafting!

Interchangeable Knitting Needles Case

I decided that it was time to have a more practical solution to storing my interchangeable knitting needle tips and cables. I saw this uber cute and practical case tutorial over at Missus Vonkysmeed and decided to base mine pretty heavily on this great tutorial. This tutorial ticked all the boxes I was looking for in a case for my knitting needles (room for the tips, cables and accessories), I just moved the placement of some of the pockets.


And I did something I haven't done for a long time...I made it entirely from my stash. Not one thing was purchased to make this!


So what do you think? How do you store your interchangeable knitting needles and cables?

Linking to: Take-A-Look Tuesday and We Did It! Wednesday(button is in my side bar to the right). Enjoy!

Happy Crafting xx

Tilting Tardis Finished

I finally finished the Tilting Tardis cowl I have been working on for my sister. Overall the pattern was fairly easy, but it also made it easy to make mistakes every now and then.

And the good news is she likes it!

Happy crafting :)

IPod Case

I got a new IPod touch last week because my old IPod just didnt have enough space for everything I wanted to put on my IPod. And I'm only talking about my music and podcasts. So I quadrupled my storage space from 8gb to 32gb. That should last me for a while...hopefully. Anyway, I listen to my Ipod in my car whenever I drive using one of those FM radio transmitters and needed something to put my Ipod in to keep it safe in my bag.

I did a quick search on the internet, having a pretty good idea of what I wanted anyway and came up with this:


Simple, but effective. It is just two layers of fabric sewn together, turned out and top stitched. I added a snap closure to keep it secure.

Have a look at what other people have made for Take-A-Look Tuesday!

Happy Crafting!

My Creative Space - A Noble Cowl

I've finally finished my second Noble Cowl! Just in time for winter, too. It has spent the day in front of the heating becuase it is freezing here.


I used Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Wellwater. It is so nice and warm, as well as cosy! Winter will be a lot more memorable.

Make sure you check out Our Creative Spaces for other wonderful creative projects.

Music Monday

Whilst there hasn't been a total lack of crafting lately, there has been a heavy decline in it. And even when I am working on something, nothing is getting finished :( So I thought I would share with you a new song from Paramore that will be on the new Transformers movie. I think its a pretty good song and hope you enjoy it too!

How do you store your WIP's?

I recently broke my knitting WIP box and it got me thinking of other ways I could store my WIP's.

So, how do you store your WIP's? I'd love to see pictures if you would like to share.

Thanks :)

My Creative Space

Yesterday when I got home from work I was greeted with a lovely package from Ink & Spindle.


I just love their fabric and have used every bit I have ever bought from them. So I couldn't wait to whip this little beauty up, which is exactly what I did today. Here is the best looking wheat bag I have ever seen!


I now cant wait for there to be an occassion for me to heat it up and use it! I snatched/bought the last blue/green kit, but they still have 2 Red/Orange kits left if you are interested.

I think this is one of the only things I've made that I've started and finished in one day :)

Happenings of late

So I jave been a bit MIA from blogland for a while, and that will more than likely continue for the next few months. I start a new job this coming Wednesday so I have been busy preparing for that and it is kinda hard to gauge how full on it will be once I start so I dont know how much I'll be around.

The quilt has taken a back seat for now (I have finished sewing half of the strip into squares) and I have been spemding a bit of time knitting. I keep switching between four projects so I dont have a mass of progress to show you, but I did want to show you what I started knitting for my sister. Originally I was knitting the Ginger Leaves shawlette, but the instructions weren't very good and it was turning out wrong so i changed over to making the Tilting Tardis Cowl. The pattern is pretty easy and it is coming along well.



Let's see if I can finish it this winter!

Happy Easter :)

My Creative Space...A Day Late

I know, I know. I was supposed to post 'My Creative Space' yesterday, but I didn't. I was too busy sewing a knitting to want to write a post. So here it is - My Creative Space.

I've recently got my sewing grove back and decided to start making a quilt I brought fabric for at the Craft Expo in Sydney earlier in March. I bought a layer cake and pattern from Busy Thimbles. The ladies who ran the stall are lovely, and whilst I didnt attend one of their seminars this time, run kick ass seminars. I was inspired by the one they ran at the Quilt and Craft show in 2010 I bought the log cabin ruler and had some fun making a few log cabin blocks. I'm still deciding whether I should make a log cabin quilt or not using a Moda Jelly roll. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts regarding log cabin quilts.

Anyway, getting back on track, I spent a few hours yesterday cutting, arranging and beginning to sew my blocks for my quilt. The pattern is called Cherish Nature. A nice and simple pattern for what will hopefully be my first useable quilt. Here are some progress shots:

From Sewing

From Sewing

I also cast on the Ginger Leaves Shawl that I'm making for my sister again. I had to frog it because I messed it up, so hopefully I wont do that again. I'll keep you postd on how it is going when it starts looking more shawl like!

Happy crafting :)

Quilt Class 101

I have wanted to make a quilt for a long time. I've even gone as far as buying jelly rolls, some batting to practice with, books full of information and design and spent many hours on Youtube learning about the quilting process. And I still feel intimidated by the entire process. Or maybe I'm just afraid of investing a great deal of time and money in something that may not turn out as I hope.

Rebecca over at Chasing Cottons will be hosting Quilt Class 101 starting on April 6th. Quilt Class 101 will be an online quilting class that will run over 12 weeks and looks like it covers everything you need to know about quilting. I know I will be folloing these classes to try and learn more about quilting and hopefully give quilting a go.

So go ahead, mark the date - April 6th - in your diaries and get ready to give quilting a go.

FO#2 for 2011

Here is my 2nd fully finished project for 2011. A pair of Maja Mitts. I only did 2 pattern repeats because I didnt want them to be too long. I really liked how them turned out, even though I did make a few mistakes.


Now to work on getting my next finished object to the fully finished stage!

FO #1 for 2011

So here is my first FO for 2011. My Meandering Vines scarf all blocked and ready to wear ☺


Now I just have to wait for it to be cold enough to wear here in Sydney.

I wonder what will be my 2nd FO for 2011?!

It's exciting!

Here is my Meandering Vines scarf pretty much finished! It was such as easy knit and a well written pattern. All I have to do now is the thing I've been dreeding all the way through this project: blocking.


I think I'll leave that till Wednesday or Thursday.

A little bit of crafting

Whilst January has been a quiet month for me, I haven't done a great deal of crafting. There has been a bit of knitting, a tiny bit of cross stitch and these fabric-covered-buttons-turned-magnets. And that about it craft wise. The other day I was in my local hardware store and stumbled upon packets of magnets and the first thing that popped into my head was to glue buttons onto them. I've had these buttons for a while, sitting in a jar, with no proect in mind. And lets face it: they are too pretty to be sitting in a jar! So I cut the shank off the buttons and glued magnets onto the backs. Now I get to look at them all day long ☺

Welcome to 2011!

I hope everyone had a great start to 2011! I always find myself looking back at the year that has just ended every January 1st. Reflecting on the events that made the year memorable. Some of the events over the past year were memorable, like friends getting married or going to my favourite bands concerts. Other events make me glad that the year is over and it's time for a new beginning! I realise that 2010 was a year of great personal growth for me. I am much happier with who I am as a person. Granted there are things that I would like to improve, I am finally starting to accept me for who I am, not what I think I ought to be. Hopefully this personal growth will continue into 2011!

Looking back at the New Years Resolutions I made last year, I find myself agreeing that they are impossible to keep. Life has a way of becoming hectic and I forget about the beginning of the year where I reflected on how I wanted to make this year different from the last. So this year I have decided to come up with more of a wishlist - what I would like to do/make happen without the pressure of confining them to a timeframe. This wishlist isn't for 2011, it's for the future!

• Be more organised
• Take a photo everyday - 365 Project
• Eat better
• Move more
• Be more creative
• Stop procrastinating so much!

One of the reasons I decided to take part in the 365 project is because I new camera for Christmas. A new Panasonic Lumix TZ10. Hopefully by taking a photo everyday I will improve my photography skills as well as getting out more and exploring the city and suburbs around me. I like how the possibilities are endless! I decided to not follow a theme for my photos because I find that too constricting and boring.

Until next time, enjoy the sunshine :)