Storage Problems?

Yeah, me too. That's why I made this!
I already have a noodle scroll (needle roll) but I had WAY too many needles in it, and despite the flap I put on it to keep them from falling out the shorter needles would find little gaps to escape from. I also have a complete inability, which sometimes borders on conspiracy, to locate a tape measure/stitch counter/unpicker/needle gauge etc. when I need one (and mostly have to borrow from Shazmina who can always locate hers!) Which lead me to this:
It's made specifically for shorter needles and the pocket fits all of my 'accessories' for eacy access (when I remember to put them back in, but that's a whole other problem). It might be a bit wide, but because it's only folded in half and and not rolled or in quarters it sits much flatter, and fits nicely with the piles of reading I seem to carry everywhere. I'm pretty happy with it! We're seeing You Am I tonight, so must dash. Have a great weekend everyone.
XXX Brown Pants

Welcome to the Morning Craft news!

More Craft News....
I need to go fabric shopping. I need to finalise the fabric for my Quilt that Mrs Bendi is making. Might need a trip to Lincraft and Prints Charming.
I need to knit my jumper. I really want to wear it in Melbourne, especially as I want to be hip and groovy while I am there (they still say Hip and groovy, right?).
Need to start a couple of Beanies and some fingerless gloves. Must tell Brown Pants that I have two more patterns for gloves.

In other unrealted Craft News....
Mrs Bendi has given me the ok to go through herstash of clothes patterns on my next visit. That is amazing news, she has kept all patterns since the 70's so there should be some really great stuff in there. Now I just have to work on "acquiring" the craft encyclopedias.......

In non-craft News.....
I have booked in for Speed Dating on the 20 July with my good budy Ms Mandie. We are both a bit nervous, but it should be alot of fun. If all else fails, I am leaving the state on July 21 (only for 3 days) so I should be able to outrun the crazies!! :)

And that is the news for today!

OCC's week in craft

I finally had a go at the japanese craft I got at the show. Loved doing it and it turned out really well. I still have one more to do so will do that soon.

And my first online wool purchase arrived. My periwinkle got confused for lavender, but I'm sure it will not put me off for good. The colours still look ok together.

I'm using the wool to make a scarf for Rich (my first project for him...). I decided that vertical stripes would look good...

I think they do look good, and it wasn't that hard to join the stripes. I fould an online tutorial on the wool shack wesite that shows you how. The back looks like this...

But next time I start talking about vertical stripes please remind me of this...

You need a ball of wool for every stripe and after about 10 rows it looks like an imaginary cat has been playing in the pile. Oh well, it will be worth it in the end. I am going to back it with grey polar fleece. Will post a final pic when I get there.

Oh, and I have started the scarf for my sister, so Shazmina, that is three concurrent projects!

Bake Your Groove Thing

Dear Kel,

I made the girlfriends some biscuit surprise the other week...did I post about that already? I can't remember, cause the ladeez r a craftin' postin' whirlwind - and I LOVE it!

Now, I am giving over my very own recipe for the biscuits and one day the ladeez might even send some to you...but not till you get home from overseas cause I don't think they'll last the journey to reach you over there.


Bee's Honeyed Jam Drops

125g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster or raw sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
Jam of your choice (although I don't recommend using my chilli jam)

Preheat the oven to 150 deg cel

Beat butter, essence, sugar and honey with an electric mixer (or a wooden spoon and very strong biceps) until light and fluffy. Now stir in the sifted flour (sift it lazy bones, no skipping steps).

Roll about 2 teaspoons of the dough into a ball and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Repeat till you use up all your mixture and have a tray full of biscuit dough balls.


Now get a wooden spoon with a round handle and use the end of the handle to press down into each biscuit and make a dent/hole (not all the way through though). Spoon some jam into a bowl and mix it up so it's smooth and easier to use. Now, half (or less) fill each hole with some jam.




Whack those puppies in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool them on a rack.


You can leave out the jam if you want and instead press a fork onto the biscuits to flatten them a bit - and you get lines on them when they're baked too.

Love Bee

You want my advice on bias binding?

Buy one of these...I just did.

It turns out they don't take very long...

I think the first one was better than this one...Third time lucky maybe.

Baby Kimono

Baby Kimono (I almost typed Camino) by request. From this angle it doesn't look too bad, but the devil is in the detail, and you don't want to get close! Major impediments included not being able to sew in a straight line and ironing the bias binding the first time I tried to use it...funny now but lead to some very 'adult language' while I tried to figure out what it was supposed to do. On the plus side I think the fabric's cute and it looks relatively in proportion.

Overall it can't have been too bad - I cut out 2 more!

Did I hear someone say coffee?

I would like to introduce my new coffee mug. It is not craft but it is damned cute so I had to post a picture.

I had dinner at Brown Pants, with her and Mr Brown Pants. Besides being absolutely yummy, I got to see Brown Pants completed Baby Kimono. It is really beautiful, she is a very clever seamstress, if she does say so herself!!! :) Hopefully she will post a picture because it is really beautiful, wish they had big people sized pattern.

Jumper is coming along. After the previous debacle, I am taking it slow and steady. Photos will be posted by the end of the week.

Cant wait to meet up with OCC this week. I am aiming to provide encouragement for her to start at least another two projects ASAP, that is my goal for the week! mwahahaha!!

Hello SnBers. I have finally pulled my finger out, stopped hating my computer and taken some photos of my crafting.

This is the cardi I made for Eliza...

This is the boots and hat I made for a friend at work...

And this is the knitted flower brooch I have been making a few of...

My current project is the frilled scarf Shazmina emailed us from Creative Knitting with the gorgeous wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills that I got at the craft show. It is knitting together really nicely, and is so nice to use. I'm going to give it to my sister for her birthday. That's the current plan anyway...

Will soon take on the japanese craft challenge (also from the craft show) and let you know how I go with it.

Weekend WIP

Hi All,

Just thought I would share some of my latest WIP!

This is the back piece of a pair of overalls i'm making for a friend who's about to become a first time aunty. We've had to do some guestimating about size and yarn as said baby is an Italiano bambina (I just made that up so apologies if anyone actually knows Italian). We eventually decided on Cotton (I have a bit of a fancy for Jo Sharp Cotton) which I think will make them a bit more versatile with the weather (would look very cute with a little orange top underneath in my opinion). I would definitely recommend this pattern, i've knitted this back piece over the last week and it's 6 month size, so they're quite quick to knit up. Pattern is from here, again (first one on the second row).
This is a baby kimono in progress. I didn't get any further than cutting out the pattern becuase I needed 'single fold bias tape' which i'm pretty sure I don't have, even thought I'm not 100% on what it is. When I figure out what it is i'll finish this off! I thought it would look cute with a pair of red pants with the trim at the bottom as inspired by the ones SadieandLance has posted (although that looks a bit too complex for me).
In amongst the starting of new projects and non-completion of others I decided I needed something pretty to store my ADC activities and put this together. I totally forgot how to do zips (der me) so it's pretty dodgy, but it will suffice as storage. I've just folded the zip over a bit so you can see the lining in case it looks confusing. Have a great weekend for those of you who remain bound to the work week! XXX

4 More Weeks!

As of today, I have 4 weeks until I am off to visit Sadie and Lance and hang out with the cool kids! I am very excited, and looking forward to exploring Melbourne. Have already decided that I am going to have a look at the Picasso exhibition at the VGA (do I sound cool using the acronym? Like a local even!) and am trying to figure out if I can fit a trip to the zoo in. Just not sure how that will work with all the craft shopping I will be doing!!

Pirate Jumper Update: No photo as I had to frog it almost to the beginning due to my multiple needle size fiasco. I will be working on it over the weekend so will give a further update then.
AADC Update: Well now that OCC is in the fold, I will continue to work on her and make sure she has multiple projects on the boil. Who would have thought that I could be distracting!! ha ha ha ha!! :) (I think it is actually one of my talents).

Have a super duper weekend!

Kellie was a young girl looking in the mirror...

Woo Hoo Kel! We're going to see the Yeah Yeah Yeah's! I think you were gone when Show Your Bones became (part of) my high rotation, but it's a fantastic album. Anyway, this is relevant to you because Van She are supporting them. I'm usually too slack to go and see support bands, but i'll go and see these guys and sing along and think of you.
XXX

It is a 10 Biscuit day today!

Dear Kel,

Much weirdness on the train this morning made Shazmina a grumpy girl! (Yes, Yes, we all know that it does not take much for that to happen!!)

It all started when I was putting together my craft to take to work for my weekly catch up with Al (she really needs an alias). I realised that I had been knitting my Pirate jumper on one 8mm and one 9mm needle. This is exactly why I am the Social Secretary of the AADC. I can sabotage craft like no other, without even meaning to do it! So now I have to Frog it and start again......

Will this day get any better??????? Here is a biscuit to ponder that on!

3 Biscuits down, seven to go!

Shazmina

For the doubters

There's been some disturbing talk lately concerning my ADC status. Although I have been recently readmitted to the AADC, here is proof of my suitability. From top left: In bright pink, a pair of seedstitch booties that haven't progressed a third through the first one; a scarf in left over Noro for a little boy I know; in the middle, the back of a cardigan that was my bus knitting but has falled off the list; on the bottom left, the cardigan I first posted that I can't finish because I ran out of yarn and can't find anymore; and in the lavender a toddler's cardigan with seed stich border that I got really bored with (knit, purl, knit, purl x a million).
Yours in ADCness
XXX BrownPants

Not a baby cardigan

There's a new love in my craft life, it's called Noro. I can see now why Noro yarn has such a reputation, these colours are striking and beautiful (I don't think i've done a particularly good job capturing this, sorry). This is Kureyon 88, which neither shazmina or I were convinced by when we saw it in a ball, but it just comes together so beautifully once you start to knit it up. I was thinking that this would be great for the fingerless gloves you knitted last year too Kel, and I think that's actually what Shaz plans to do with hers now that I think of it. This scarf went to a friend as a 40th birthday present. I'm secretly glad that i'll still get to see it now and then! I also got a whole bunch of Kureyon 128 which was intended as a Clapotis that hasn't eventuated - See! I do have ADC! It's just that I have the variety that means things don't get started, rather than the variety where they remain unfinished...Anyway, i'm considering combining this yarn with some other Jo Sharp yarn I have that also didn't become the project it was intended for (if further proof was required) and make this vest. But if anyone knows of a better V-Neck vest pattern let me know.
BTW you can also see another big love of the moment in the background - my bulbs! I heart bulbs (I heart Zeusey too of course). I can't wait until they start to flower, i'll post some pic's if/when they do.
XXX

Yum in progress

Hi Kel,

I was wondering where you'd gotten too lately so it was great to see some comments from you this weekend!

I'm changing the subject again, this time to cooking, seeing as I have been coooking all day today and having fun doing it too I might add. I made:

• roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup
• veggie soup with purl (hee hee) barley and split peas
  
• homemade sausage rolls
• Corned beef with mash, steamed veggies and cabbage
  
• And Nigella's lemon syrup cake:

I even managed to clean as I went (much to Mr SadieandLance's delight) and so the kitchen is just as clean as when I started (even though every single saucepan and spoon is in the dishwasher.

Love Bee xxx

Changing the subject

I'm changing the subject to sewing.

I finished these this week, all that was holding me up was being a cheap skate cause all I needed to do was fork out some dough to buy non el-cheap cotton so that it wouldn't catch in my machine and crap up.

Success...




Bee x

Shepherd 4 play just keeps going!

Hi All,
I promise i'll get bored of knitting baby cardigans soon, but until then this is the latest instalment. This is the same Shepherd Yarn that Miss B sent to me, in the same pattern as the cardigan in the previous post. I managed to figure out what the pattern meant when it told me to pick up stitches around the edges this time, so it's a lot neater. Unlike the others, this one's going to a good home for a new baby girl called Frances (Shayne's). I thought i'd post up a photo of this fabric as a 'before' shot of the quilt that i'm making over the weekend thanks to a tute organised with Shaz's mum. Hope you're all well, it's past my beer o'clock so must dash.
XXX

Fabric porn

I confessed to Brownpants and Shazmina my weekend of undoing in the fabric departments of both Lincraft and Ikea. I am in the process of going from this


to this


Wish me luck, I hate ironing at the best of times.

I like this one

Hi All,
This is another pattern from the 10 simple baby knits book, but I knitted this one in Jo Sharp SoHo summer cotton instead. I had to pick up the purple around the edges at the end, which wasn't particularly successful. I do like the pattern though, it's pretty funky for a baby top. My eBay purchases arrived, so here's some more fabric porn for those of you so inclined. XX

Over achiever's, dont you hate them!

So Kel, it has been a while since I posted on here. Those damn craft over acheiver's have been putting me off! :) I have been stuck on two projects, the blanket and a knitted bag, and as I am trying to be a completer finisher, I have been forcing myself to complete before I pick up a new project. They say persistence pays off, and it seems to be working for me, however slowly! The good news is that I am going to knit my first big person project, a knitted chunky pirate jumper! Hopefully I will start on the weekend.

As I dont have a craft picture for you, here is a picture of my favorite biscuit!

Yours in Biscuits,
Shazmina

"I promise to love, honour and eBay"

I heard this little piece of gold on Thank God You're Here,
a new comedy show much like theatresports that I think you'd really enjoy Kel (WARNING: they will not close at midnight and kick you out). Unfortunately it reminded me of that little addiction I had a couple of months ago, you remember it, the one I had managed to quell just before an intervention/cutting up of credit card was necessary. Anyway, I had a spare 5 minutes and thought i'd get back on and have a bit of a browse and see what was about (I hadn't even gone to the website for 2 months, honest!) But then I found this. The eBay godess had shined on me - at last an excuse for all of the Amy Butler fabric I had purchased with the intention of one day finding the perfect project for it. So of course I bought it. Nevermind that my sewing skills /pattern reading skills are nowhere near the level they need to be to actually complete this project (or start it). They might be one day. At some stage. Anyway, it was all very innocent - no need for alarm or talk of regression. It's just a pattern...and some fabric. Don't groan! It's only a little bit of fabric! And I really needed it, it's for my quilting tutorial with Shaz's mum. You need a lot of fabric for quilting and I didn't want to my stash to run low. It was a pre-emtive strike. Yeah, they're in fashion now, right? Could you resist this, or this, or this? No, I didn't think so...

Yet another cardigan

Hiya. As those of you not sunning yourself in Spain would be aware, it's been getting pretty chilly lately (probably more so for those down south!) The change of weather has lead to the emergence of the oil heater, which means it's well and truly knitting season. This is the best explanation I can come up with for the rush of baby cardigans coming off the needles at the moment. Here's another, just finished, sitting on some of my favourite Amy Butler fabric. This one took a week of sitting on the couch watching the news (and the 7.30 report, and American Dad, and Family Guy, and Scrubs, and Arrested Development, and Lateline) to get through, which isn't too bad. It's always awkward at this time of the year when it's cold and dark when you leave work, it just makes me want to sit at home and knit all day. Sigh. Anyway, the pattern's from Cleckheaton's 10 Simple Baby Knits in 8 ply, knitted in country naturals. The pattern's pretty straight forward, although I wasn't much of a fan of the sleeve seems, but maybe that's just because i'm not very good at them. It needs buttons, but I don't have any, so that will have to wait until I get a chance to go up to the button shop. I might just drop in to Leo Monk for a drool while i'm up there Kel!
Oh, and since we're on strike against Spotlight until they stop using nasty legislation to exploit their staff (Shame Spotlights Shame!), thought I would let you know that Tapestry Craft is having a May Sale! Wooo Hoooo!
Wow, have just realised that's a lot of TV...
XXX

Shame Spotlight Shame

No doubt you guys have heard about Spotlights recent antics around workplace relations? Today I cut up my membership card (not that being a member was all that rewarding anyway), unsubsribed from the mailing list and sent the Management this message, cause I can easily get by without scum bags like Spotlight in my life.

**************************************
Dear Mr Fraid and Mr Fried,

I am a long time customer who has spent a great deal of money at
Spotlight over the years pursuing my craft related hobbies.

I am appalled at your recent decision to remove access to penalty
rates, rest breaks and overtime payments in return for a measley 2 cents
an hour payrise. This is a blatant rip off of workers rights and a great
insight for me into the nature of your management and the values of
your company. You had the opportunity to be a leader and an employer of
choice for your workers and a retailer of choice for me, but your recent
decisions have influenced my decision to no longer shop at Spotlight.

I refuse to support your money grabbing actions and I happily advise
you that I will no longer shop with Spotlight and have cut up my
membership card.

Shame Spotlight Shame.

****************************

Get over to the ACTU Workplace Relations Campaign page and give Spotlight a hard kick up the arse, bastards - like you already haven't!

*stepping down off the soapbox*