Rain and Inspiration

We have been house hunting lately, and have had two very busy and quite stressfull weeks, as we just put an offer on a house (first one!). We have another week before we know for sure if we are getting it or not.
All this being busy and preoccupied doesn't leave much space in my poor little brain for crafting! I find that I would love to make something, because it would take my mind of things, but I am mentally too tired and have given up a few projects half way through in the last few days. Oh well, I think it's like that, it won't last.
Saturday was a very quiet, lovely day. The rain didn't stop pouring, the streets were under water, and the wind was blowing so hard that the roof seemed ready to fly off. So a good day for a trip to the library to have a nice hot coffee and flick through magazines.
I was very lucky to find some really good books too, so I spent the rest of the afternoon dreamily paging through them. Mmmm, I've got loads of ideas in my head to put into practice once I'm back to a normal pace!
First I found Stiches, which I really recommend, just to flick through. It's amazing to see what some designers are up to, what techniques they have come up with....
Melissa from Tiny Happy wrote a post the other day, where she mentionned Lotta Jandsotter, so I was very surprised and happy to find Lotta's book and to take it home with me for a good look.

I love everything about that book, the simplicity of the designs, the fabrics she uses...




And last a cute little fellow that I would soooo like to make. Just for myself (yes I can be a bit of a kid sometimes... )




He is from this book:

Happy reading...

Seven things about me...

I've been tagged by Twenty Cent Mixture!
I feel a bit shy about it actually.
I am scratching my head for things to say... here goes...

1. I am a compulsive fabric buyer. I have piles of fabric on the floor in my sewing room because the big cupboard is very full.
And the sewing room used to be our spare bedroom. I just snatched it to be mine, and in the process also took possession of the very lovely wooden cupboard we had bought and sanded together, and put all my stuff in it... (it was going to be a junk and linen cupboard... I have a very understanding husband!)

2. I come from France. I have been in New Zealand for 7 years now and love it. I still miss bread and cheese and cheap wine though. Every time I go back I put on a few kilos ;)

3. One of the first things I sew myself was this unwantingly very sexy dress thingy for my barbie doll, made out of an old pair of pink semi opaque (or more like semi transparent, ahem!) stockings.

4. My great grandma was a tailor for a living. She also made the clothes for the whole family and knitted and crochetted heaps. It gave me a taste for creating and sewing. She clothed all my dolls, and also made me a lovely pink jumper when I was 8 that I loved and loved and wore until I couldn't get my head through the neck opening.

5. I love chocolate. Had to mention chocolate.

6. My sewing machine cost me $30.00 at the dump. The bobine door hold with tape, it is fast, reliable somehow, makes a train noise when I push it to the max, the whole table trembles....
I have to sometimes remind myself that my great grandma had a Singer with a manual foot pedal thingy, and that my machine compared to that is luxury!

7. I love cats. I want one, but the neighborhood here is swarming with stray cats, and I'm scared our poor kitten would get bullied! I am waiting until we are somewhere bigger as well, we are looking for a new place. Maybe soon....


I'm now passing on this meme to some other bloggers, and here are the rules for tagging:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I would like to tag the following blogs:

Craft Yourself

Tiny Happy

Jane's Apron

Sew Sydney

Cupboard Love

Fat Orange Cat

Love Stiches

I think all these blogs are great, some of them I've only just discovered recently. I'm always amazed at how much blogging goodness there is out there!
If you have been tagged before and don't wish to participate, that's ok.


And now for the latest things I've been working on.
I don't know anything about embroidery. And I'm quite useless at following instructions. So I have just been trying some things.

I used a postcard of a tiki and made this little fellow. Only I don't think he is detailed enough, but I wanted it small enough to make into a patch or a brooch, and well, I think I need to keep trying...

Then the other day I was reading a book about pohutukawas, and thought of making these:


I've actually made the pohutakawa one into a brooch, and the one on the right is awaiting the same treatment.

And one last picture of another tote bag. I'm hoping to make a few of these to post on Etsy very soon as well as other goodies, but I work so slowly it could take a few months!




Also thanks for people who have stopped by and left me a comment or dropped me an email, it is nice to have some feedback, and makes me really happy :)

Escape

Thursday I flew off to Auckland, with much anticipation.
Every year on the same week end, as tradition wants, I have my Thursday and Friday off...
Thursday is shopping day. By myself most of the time. He flies to join me on Thursday night, and I have a whole day to roam free around Auckland.
Friday, is the Big Day Out.
So Thursday, I arrived in Auckland early morning, and dropped off my bags and jumped in a bus to get to town straight away. My first stop was for coffee, of course, then I just wandered about, did some shopping, and of course had more coffee, and sushi, and cake. Have to look after myself!!
There are some really good second hand shops in Auckland, and I found some nice clothes at a bargain price.
But the highlight of the day was this shop, Salvage. I had been reading about it, and really wanted to visit it.
It was smaller than I thought (well in my dreams it was a huge place with piles of fabric and buttons you could dive into... in my dreams, as I say!) but really great!
I had great fun looking at all the amazing fabrics they have in there, and got some very sweet glass buttons, and some lace as well....
I felt really shy, I was scared to touch anything, some of the fabrics in there are truly to die for!





Not far from that shop was also an hospice shop where I found some more bits and bobs, doilies, bits of felt, some bits of fabric...


I had a really good time, wandering by myself.
I find I relax best when I'm alone, and I really feel like that mini break not only was resting but also got me thinking about new things I want to create. Sometimes I think that I do lose touch with my "creative side" when I am caught into work and routine. That day really was the best thing. And I had great weather.... Mmmm, wouldn't mind another day off!

Market Day!

Well I wish it was market day today! Only I was in the office all day instead.
But it feels like market day everytime I look at this little tote I finished last night.




I got the fabric at supershed, which is this big warehouse that sells all sorts of second hand junk. I think they mainly collect stuff that people bring to the refuse station, so there is a lot of real junk. But I have found some real cool fabrics there sometimes, and buttons, and embroidery threads, and old patterns... Ah the joys of thrifting!


To go back to the fabric, it's actually an old cotton sheet. I love the colours, and these flowers, I couldn't resist buying it!

Needless to say I got it next for to nothing, as well as this other piece of gorgeous fabric, soon to become a bag as well I think:

I love the little girl with the hat, it remind me of one of my childhood book.

New start

Well I find it so hard coming here and posting on my blog, yet I think about it all the time!
I'll keep it short and sweet for that first post of the year and just put up a few pics of what I have been up to in my craft world lately...

Some ongoing work...




A funny bunny from Aranzi Aronzo's Cute Book...



Shopping for buttons....


I am hoping to start posting regularly. Like, once a week maybe? We'll see...

week end creation

I came across this tutorial a long time ago and finally got some time to do it this week end.
With all my friends popping babies lately, I have been thinking a lot about making baby clothes, toys, etc.
For the toys, my tries have not been very successfull so far (unless I wanted to scare the babies that is), but I am quite happy with these....




Oh soooo cute! I could make a million of these! They are made entirely of recycled wool, inside and out.
Thanks to Mollychicken for sharing that pattern!

goodies...

I have just send a parcel to my mum in France. It's kind of been a while that I wanted to post it, but kept adding to it...
Today it had to go as we are going to France in about 4 weeks and I would find it a bit silly that the parcel would arrive after me. I didn't want to carry everything either, as we have a stop over in Singapore, and then we have to travel from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, my home town, and I will already have plenty of presents in my bag...
I have sent her some stuff I have made myself, a brooch, and a book pocket like the one that I made in that post, and a bag.
I particularly like this bag.


It is made entirely of cotton. The strippy material comes from the red cross, and the floral white and blue material is a piece of recycled table cloth.