dash robin deliciousness

most people who know me well know that i have a bit of a thing for trees. so it was not exactly a shock to find i was swooning over these little brooches by the talented kate allan of dash robin the second i laid eyes upon them (serious amounts of self-control required to resist buying the whole series). they were bought with the intention of giving one to a friend but it took me - literally - months to come to the point where i could bear to part with it! now it is finally with its rightful owner and i can at last share.

as for mine, i have grand plans...in my mind i have a sketch for a bag that is designed specifically to show off this (and other) brooches. watch this space.

metamorphasis

anyone by any chance remember a long-ago post about the fingerpainting one of my godsons did for my christmas wrapping last year? when i wrote earlier about free spoonflower swatches i promised to show what i ended up doing with it (if you don't know about spoonflower, it's a world of creative possibility you might really want to explore...you can choose designs others have uploaded, or you can make something really personal by uploading and using tools to play with your own, which are then printed onto a selection of fabrics).

so, here you go, the visual transformation of the painting i was given...from this:

to this...

to this.

(apologies for the last photo, taken on a really overcast day on some really grotty pavers)

love is all around you

with the year drawing to a close, presents sent off in all directions - and the mad rush before christmas finally over - it seems like a good time to catch up on recording some recent projects...

this is quilt/floor mat no 2 - a 'welcome to the world' present for the new little sister of my australian godson...made with love of a couple of different kinds, including amy butler's love collection of fabric (seem to be becoming a bit of a devotee...and especially drawn to her sunspots line from that collection).

(wasn't going to forget the closeup of some of the 4 metres plus of hand slipstitching this time!)

free spoonflower swatches

this is too good not to share! a free swatch of fabric at the fabulous spoonflower for everyone who feels so inclined...only for the next 12 hrs or less (by my calculations). perfect opportunity to have a bit of a play and see how it turns out.

i've used a detail of the christmas wrapping paper that was decorated for me by one of my gorgeous godsons! let you know how it looks when i get my hands on the real thing.

'i will make something for you' - no 2

my creation for alex (yes, the cushion craze continues). i found myself making something that reminded me of the day i met her - at a friends blessingway...there were sumptuous cushions scattered throughout a beautifully set up tent with sides billowing in the breeze...somehow the purple seemed right too.
(and i'm still enjoying this way of breathing new life into old doilies)

'i will make something for you' - no 1

a while ago i promised to show you the little details of this bag when it reached its new home. now that it is safely in kate's arms (literally, at times, i guess) here you are...
(i know i mentioned this before but i was quite taken by the writing on the selvedge - so decided to make a feature of it rather than hiding it)

this became the first of my 'i will make something for you' projects - an idea i read about on a friend's facebook page earlier in the year and instantly knew i wanted to be part of. simply put, it is a version of 'pay it forward' in which you promise to make something (anything) for the first five people who respond and agree to do the same: the ripple effect. a lot of people seemed to find this intimidating but it's not that scary - really! your gifts can reach the intended targets anytime in the year and be as small or big as you feel inclined. i think it's the most gorgeous idea, a lovely excuse to make new things... and such a feel-good buzz sending parcels of handmade things off into the world.

24 hr handbag

no, unfortunately, not a bag completed in the space of one day - instead one that took me somewhere approaching 24 hrs to complete. (it's not supposed to take 1 1/2 hrs to cut out a pattern...surely?)

this is another fantastic free pattern from rae hoekstra. the main material had been lurking in the cupboard for close to 20 years (and apparently has something to do with a food company which i can't quite work out); the lining fabric was a an ebay purchase from someone who was downsizing their collection; and the buttons were repurposed from something or other once upon a time and were also found sitting unloved in the cupboard. i think the only new things used were the magnetic clasp and the threads.

will show you all the little details when it's arrived at its new home...wherever that may be. (i want the person it goes to live with to have the pleasure of discovering those herself - think that's half the fun).