Everyone say 'Awwwwwww ...'

My friend Caroline is having a baby
and today is her baby shower.
We're off to her mum's house for a special afternoon tea and I'm sure I'll have a glass of bubbles as well.

Caroline is one of the most creative people I know.
She is totally awesome and I know she loves some
crafty goodness so I've been racking my brain what to make for the baby shower.
After spending nearly a week in bed with a bad back (I'm sounding so old aren't I), time was against me .... eek!

What to do ?
What to do?

So last night, in between cooking dinner, doing the washing and updating facebook, I found a brilliant idea (Thanks Martha!)



Can you guess what I'm making?


A gift card ...

Isn't it the sweetest thing?
Perfect for a precious new arrival.

The template for the nappy makes it all so easy peasy.
I stamped the message, but of course you don't have to ....
Take the idea and make it yours.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday! I'm looking forward to that glass of bubbles and a tiny cupcake (maybe two).

Hooked on .... stripes

My love affair with the hook continues. I've been totally inspired by Lucy at Attic 24. Her gorgeous granny stripe has got me hooked. So I checked out my stash of wool and thought .... I can do that!

And after seriously hurting my back and neck (by stretching - of all things) I was confined to bed for two days . It was too painful to lie down so I propped myself up on pillows, heated the hot water bottle, threw back the painkillers and got out the hook ....

Lucy's instructions are very straight forward and I quickly got the hang of it after the first couple of rows, which are a bit tricky. Then it's just clusters of treble, clusters of treble, clusters of treble - the rhythm is quite mesmerising (or perhaps that was the painkillers!)

And the wonderful thing about crochet is the progress you make. It's soooo quick. I'm making this granny stripe blankie for Eliza who just loves the colour combination. It will be perfect for her to snuggle in front of TV, take in the car on cold mornings and as an extra cover on her bed.

I love it all ready.

Hooked on hats

I'm a little bit obsessed about crocheting at the moment and when Retro Mummy shared her pattern for her gorgeous crocheted hats I couldn't resist.

And it's dead easy. No tears, no tantrums, no unravelling .... phew!

I managed this hat for Eliza on Sunday afternoon.

She loves it and is actually wearing it! Yay me .

There's no stopping me now ... Despite some long days at the office I couldn't wait to get out the hook in front of TV and get cracking on another one. So over the next couple of nights in front of Masterchef I produced this one for my niece as a little surprise for when I see her this weekend.

Corrie's pattern is super fast and super easy for beginners like me.

And don't they look lovely?

I've got one more on the go for little Georgia .

I can't wait to get a picture of all three girls in their hats.

Once Apron A Time ...

I loved taking part in the pincushion swap and have signed up for another swap.
This time I'll be making an apron.
Sarah at Red Gingham has taken on the huge task of organising the swap. (Thanks Sarah!!)

It's an exercise in crafty logistics with names and addresses being swapped, emails flying across the world and swap partners dropping by blogs to introduce themselves.
My apron swap partner is Jenny who lives at Winnibriggs House in the UK. Jenny told me she's a fan of shabby chic and Cath Kidston.
As we say in Australia, no worries Jenny!
I hear you ... and what's not to love about gorgeous pastels and spring florals, spots and stripes .























I'm looking for some lovely fabric to create something special. My sewing skills are pretty basic ... but you can be sure I'll pour my heart into this project.
What fun.
And there's nothing like a deadline to get the creative juices flowing.
Drop by again to see my progress.

Swap-a-rama

A huge thank you to Beck at Dandeloin for my pin cushion which arrived this week.
While I didn't get the initial thrill of opening the parcel (see the previous post) I was thrilled to add this gorgeous heart to my sewing box.

















Turn it over and lookie see!
Isn't her label great?


















As well as the pin cushion there were matching pins and a little red thimble.
Thanks Beck. I love it.

















And a huge thank you to Kate at Fox's Lane for organising the Pin Cushion Swap. It's created lots of excitement in blog land with pin cushions criss-crossing the country in the name of crafty goodness.
It's been lovely to be part of it and Beck, your pincushion will be put to good use.

I'm already gearing up for the next projecct.
Watch this space as I take on my next crafty swap.

Pin Cushion Swap - Part 2

My pin cushion for the great Pin Cushion Swap is complete!
I raided my stash for supplies and surprising whipped this up after dinner one evening last week - which is a very good thing because my time for craft is limited at the moment.















The fabric looks like it's covered in hundreds and thousands which means the pin cushion looks like a special cake or iced donut. Sweet.















I confess I'm quite nervous about sending this little treasure to it's new owner. I've been over to check out her blog and let's just say she's a very accomplished crafter.
But I loved making this pin cushion and already have plans for more.
Anything that I can create in one evening, after dinner, with a glass of wine (or cup of tea) beside me, gets a big tick.

Thanks to Kate for organising the inaugural pin cushion swap. Great idea!

You've got me crafting again.

Pin Cushion Swap

I've found a wee project that will force me to extract the digit and actually do some stitching.

The project is not too daunting ... and should be rather fun.

I've joined a whole group of crafty types for a pin cushion swap dreamed up by Kate, over at Fox's Lane.

A lovely idea .... but I fear Kate might be trampled in the rush.

Seems that truckload of folk have jumped at the chance of making a pincushion .... and then swapping it with someone else. Kate is coordinating logistics between all the swappers and swappees. Phew, that's some spreadsheet she's going to need. If you like the idea, you have until Monday to sign up.

I'll be delving into my stash to find fabric and perhaps a vintage button or two, but I need to see who my swap buddy is going to be and perhaps check out their blog to see just what they'd like.

Thanks for a great idea Kate!

Update

I whipped up my pin cushion last night. As soon as I get a moment I'll take a pic and post it on my blog.

It was a lovely project, started and completed after dinner. Quick and easy and fun - gotta love that! I've very happy with the result. I'll wrap it in some pretty paper and then it will snail mail its way to its new owner.

Come back soon to see what I made.

Hooked

You crafty types will know what I mean.

I'm hooked. On crochet right now.

I keep thinking about it.

At work, in the shower, when I wake up in the morning.

Different stitches.

Variegated wool.
Colour combinations.

It's so quick. That's what I love about it. 20 mins and you've got a result.

I've started making flowers. Self taught from the Patons Beginner Crochet book. And very proud I am too.

I've made flowers for my friends, my daughter, my sister, my niece (not the 5 week old one, but her turn will come) and for myself. Ive added them to my denim jacket, a great poncho I picked up and a couple of my favourite hats. Gorgeous!