So long ago...

It feels like forever since I have posted. 

So much has changed in my life, 

Hopefully for the better!...

I am still a crafter at heart, picking up the hook and yarn whenever I get a chance...

But most of my time is spent with a palette knife in my hand and oil paint under my nails...

Working at the gallery has opened my eyes to so much inspiration...

Seeing close hand the wonderful techniques artist use to piece together unique artworks

that take my breath away every day I go to work...

My passion for creating surges me on...

I hope you feel the same way.

Here are some images of works that I have created...

Some inspired by my own feathered friends other from images and artist that I 

admire...

I wish everyone a very safe and happy Christmas...

And will keep everyone updated with yet another massive project next year...

Lots of workshops and Yarn-bombing a whole town!...

 

Splashing some colour

Oh my how time flys...

I cant believe that my last post was so long ago...

It is a chilly day in my little neck of the woods.

A brisk breeze is coming in from the west, with much needed rain

but icy winds make for slow typing.

Only a week ago I was having a break in Sydney with the family

the sun was shining on us

and we were treking around many a tourist haunt.

The Opera House, Luna Park, The Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens.

and of course a few hours around China Town grabbing a bargain or two.

Back home though my thoughts have turned to paint,

having picked up the brush and ventured to the local art group

I have felt inspired to set about adorning my walls with some pieces

of colour.

Looking at my coop of foul feather friends the inspiration started to flow

and in a very short space of time I produced a few pieces that I was happy to hang around.

As it turns out the local art prize was taking entries and my fellow students 

motivated me to enter.

As it turns out the judge saw something he liked in my piece 

and I won the Oil and Acrylic section.

I was pretty chuffed...

So here it is for you to see.

I would like to say that I have it in me to knock out a few more

that are just as delightful but I am not counting my chickens before they hatch.

So we will just wait and see,

But in the mean time I am just content to splash paint around and have fun.

A bit of glitz...

Kaspar is back crocheting again.

This time he has reinvented his wristwarmers

to be a bit more festive...

He used some 8ply yarn and sparkling

festive yarn together...

He used a larger hook...size 5 1/2mm

And as a result he did cut back on the amount of rows...

Even for him, they were super fast.

and had one made in an hour...

A glowing success...

And pretty darn....COOL...

Festive Sale in my etsy shop

Getting into the festive spirit today...

I have listed my Nellie skirt pattern on etsy

with a bonus Nellie caplet pattern as well.

Unfortunately I don't have a great photo of the caplet...

but I can tell you I have made this caplet many times

and it is a favourite amongst my crochet class ladies. 

The Nellie skirt uses chunky 12ply yarn with two strands together

and a size 10 mm crochet hook.

Where the caplet uses three strands of 8ply and a 

size 10mm crochet hook...

You could always get creative and use the same yarn for both

just make adjustments to the opposite pattern.

Once you get the hang of it you can do one in a day...

I have also listed a little bonus offer with some of my most popular patterns.

This is for a very limited time.

Just follow the link on my sidebar to my etsy shop

and you will find this bargain...

You can make a gift for yourself, your friends and family...

Or maybe whip some up to sell at your local market...

All of these patterns are a instant download via etsy...

So no waiting around, you can get started right away...

Happy crocheting my dears...

Crochet Christmas Wreath tutorial.

Yes it's that time of year!

Now to get into the spirit, why not take it that step further...

Make you very own Babble Christmas Wreath.

Here is how!

You will need:

Yarn - two colours I used 8 ply

String - not too chunky.

Styrofoam wreath.

Size 3.5 or 4 mm crochet hook.

Some strips of fabric.

Stuffing.

Hot glue gun, and lots and lots of refills for it.

To start- set aside two weeks and a huge amount of patience.

But it will be worth it! ...

I did count the Babbles, 115 in total. Whew...

I have made two sized babbles.

Small and Large.

As the string is rougher it will made those babbles a bit bigger,

but that adds to the texture.

This is in English crochet terms...

Small Babble:

Chain 2 making the first chain loose.

Row 1... 6 double crochet back into first chain.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 2... 1 chain,

2 double crochet into each double crochet from Round 1.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 3... 1 chain,

1 double crochet in each double crochet from previous Round.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 4... Same as Round 3 

Row 5... 1 chain, decrease row by:

Crocheting 2 double crochet together all the way around.

You will be left with 6 stitches in total.

Trim end and leave some yarn to sew the opening closed.

Stuff your babble with some stuffing and sew closed.

This will be the end that you will hot glue to the wreath so it

does look to shabby.

Large Babble:

Chain two making the first chain loose.

Row 1... 6 double crochet back into first chain.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 2... 1 chain,

2 double crochet into each double crochet from Row 1.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 3... 1chain, 

( 1 double crochet in first stitch, 2 double crochet in next stitch.)

Repeat ( - ) to end.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 4... 1 chain,

1 double crochet in each double crochet from previous Row.

Join with a slip stitch to first double crochet.

Row 5... Same as Row 4.

Row 6... Same as 4.

Row 7... 1 chain, decrease row by.

( 1 double crochet into first stitch, 

double crochet the next 2 stitches together.)

Repeat ( - ) to end.

Row 8... 1 chain, decrease row by:

Crocheting 2 double crochet together all the way around.

You will be left with 6 stitches left.

Trim end and leave some yarn to sew the opening closed.

Stuff your babble with some stuffing and sew closed.

This will be the end that you will hot glue to the wreath so it

does look to shabby.

Now I have made a lots of Babbles for my wreath.

You could do a smaller wreath or use these Babbles as part

of some other festive display.

Now to prepare your Styrofoam wreath.

I  have wrapped strips of fabric to my wreath 

as I don't want the hot glue to make contact with the styrofoam.

You can hot glue the fabric together 

but just overlap the fabric and glue into place. 

I don't think that hot glue and styrofoam go together very well.

By covering it you have a nice base to start glueing 

your Babbles onto. 

You will use a lot of hot glue, I think I used about 20 sticks.

Now I wanted my wreath to look a bit tidy so a made a crocheted circle 

to cover the back as well.

I did this by starting with 11 chain.

Miss 1 chain,

Double crocheting into the next 3 chain,

Half treble into next 3 chain,

Treble into the last 4 chain.

I then turned my work over and matched the same stitches.

Trebles in the trebles, Half trebles in the half trebles

and Double crochet in the Double crochet for the next row.

I continued this for 6 rows. 

Every 7th row I did one plain treble row.

I just found that evened out the shape.

It will depend on how big your wreath is to how many rows in total.

I think mine is about 76 rows.

I sewed my circle together and hand stitched it to the babbles on either side.

I know that sounds like a lot of work.

But you don't really have to do that as you don't really see it.

So there you have it.

Your very own Babble Christmas Wreath.

I hope you enjoy making your own.

Don't forget to send me some photos of your finished wreaths.

As I always love seeing your work.

In the Spirit...

It's that time of year again...

We drag out the old decorations and resurrect

what we can... 

Or like me you get the crafty hat on and make something

new to add a smile to your day...

I have been very busy indeed...Crocheting some Christmas decorations

that have a little bit of bling and a little bit of texture...

Yes, just some very basic supplies ...

String, wool and a styrofoam ball...

Oh, not forgetting the most important thing!!!...

My crochet hook...

But if hooking some Christmas decorations isn't your thing.

Add some Pompoms to a piece of string...they look great and are easy to make...

And I will leave this post with a little drawing I did...

I call it "Turmoil" 

The inner conflict between a Eco friendly Christmas

and the bling and glitz of childhood Christmas's past.

Art, drawing and something to do for the night

Here my friends are some random drawing 

that seem to keep me busy of a nighttime.

I sketch away with my trusty pencil,

then outline with a ink pen.

I hope you like them...

P.s. photo quality is a tad dodgy 

Due to late night happy snaps...

Stay crafty my dears!...even when it's far to late at night

and you should be in bed fast asleep...

Homespun September Issue

I would like to say a huge THANK YOU...

to the amazing team at Homespun magazine.

for featuring one of my patterns in their

September issue.

Grandma Rosie Rings...

Also the front cover features the lovely work of Sedef
from Down Grapevine Lane...
It makes me think a few spring showers
wouldn't go astray at the moment...

This is an Australian magazine that offers lots of crafty inspiration,
just reading the front cover is making me feel inspired.

Kids sketches into toys...Yes!

It also keeps you posted about the people, trends and happenings in the craft world. 

It is a magazine that is part of the Universal Magazines...Australia...

You can follow the Homespun link to their Complete Craft site

 a comprehensive website sharing all the latest and greatest in craft. 

The site covers a range of titles

 from patchwork, quilting, stitchery, cross stitch, bags and dolls to beading, 

scrapbooking, country home decorating and antique collecting.

Follow Homespun on Facebook HERE...

or grab a copy at your local newsagents...

I know I will be...

Happy crafting!

What the seasons bring...

The winter has been hard to get use to

even thou it has been milder than previous years. I sign of age...

I have had little chance to create any new patterns,

I seem to just pick up the wool and come up with something...

or find a pattern that I like and give it a try...

Which is nice, Especially when it turns out...

I have spent more time on the sewing machine than before,

making up some bags and hats and a few cushions.

I know a lot of my blogging friends are having a lovely summer 

and it's always so nice to visit your pages and see the sun shining.

I am sure it will not be long before the weather is bright and cheery 

and I am looking for cotton to crochet and spending days at the pool with

the kids...

But for now I hope that you all enjoy spending some crafty time with your friends,

getting inspiration from as many places as possible and just enjoying what the seasons bring your way..

Till next time...

Happy crafting with fabric paint.

I made this cushion with a doily stencil and some hand painting...

Here is how...

Use some good quality fabric paint. 

Place paper doily where you want it.

To keep it from moving around use some sticky tape or fabric glue spray.

A stipple brush is the best thing to use to apply the paint.

Dabbing lightly as you go, but with good coverage.

It should look something like this when you are finished.

Now to add a favourite animal into the centre, 

draw or use a pre-made stencil if you are a bit unsure about it.

You can dabb the paint like you did with the doily or you can

free hand paint your image on.

Once the design is finished let your image dry for at least

12 hours to make sure that it is really set.

Iron your image for about 3-5 minutes but be careful not to burn your fabric.

I used my fabric to make some cushion covers.

If your freehand painting is pretty good try some other designs.

Here are some that I did earlier.

Happy crafting my friends...