Pot holders.

I have been thinking a lot lately about trying my hand at making a pot holder.

This booklet has a number of different patterns that I have been playing with the idea of making. The booklet contains patterns for a number of different styled pot holders, plus a variety of embroidery options. The instructions are a little tricky to decipher in some of the patterns though. The (apparent) complexity of some of the patterns has put me off a little, as I just worry that my crochet skills are not good enough (I am a total beginner).

This is where EmmaLamb comes in...

~ from here ~

Aren't they the most beautiful things you've ever seen?!? The detail is brilliant and the colour combinations are perfect. I wish I had skills like this. I also love how they can be used as a decorative feature on a wall.

My favourite would definitely be Bessie...

~ from here ~

Emma has a beautiful Etsy store and also an inspiring blog.

A lovely discovery...

Sam xox

Clever girls.

I think I have the cleverest girlfriends ever! Last night I was lucky enough to be the recipient of some beautiful handmade gifts.

Mill gave me these gorgeous cushions, both made from antique pink silk. One has mother of pearl button details. The other has a line of lace from her great-great-grandmothers stash!

The second gift was from Mel. Remember a while ago I posted about the blanket she was crocheting, and I was encouraging her to "keep going"? Well, she had been madly crocheting in secret this beauty...

Mel has spent the last few months making this blanket for me as a Christmas gift. She worked on this blanket during her commute to work. She worked on this blanket during a holiday down the coast. I am still getting my head around the hours she has spent making this blanket for me! It is so very beautiful and so very generous of her to give me this. It is also the first crochet item she has finished too which is extra special.

Thank you girls! I am in crafty-gift heaven!

Sam xox

Doily.

I purchased this crocheted cropped jacket today. I have been making an effor these past six months to only buy clothes if I need them for work. This is not work wear, but there is no possible way I could crochet a vest like this! I love it so much I just had to show you all...

It reminds me of a vintage crochet doily... which Jamie thinks might not necessarily be a good thing. Regardless, I fell in love with it!

It is a rainy Sunday evening here in Sydney. Jamie is spinning his legs on his indoor trainer and I am relaxing listening to the radio.

Maybe we will start thinking about dinner soon.

Sam xox

Craft day.

This year I decided not to celebrate my birthday with dinner or drinks. Instead, today I celebrated by having a craft day with my crafty girlfriends at my home. We ate, we stitched, and we enjoyed each others company.

I already count myself lucky to have these girls in my life, but the cherry on the top really is that they are just as crafty as me!

Mill worked on her trademark Christmas stars. This year she is planning on making many to give as gifts, and has given herself the deadline of November 25 to have 20 complete. Every star she makes is a different combination of colours for the felt, thread and beads. They look really beautiful hanging on the Christmas tree as the lights reflect on the tiny beads.

Renae has been working on this cross stitch for a while now, remember I blogged about it here? Well, today we got to watch her complete the final stitches! I am really looking forward to what it will look like framed and hanging on her wall. Her next project is a similar theme but with an adult and baby giraffe.

Mel's blanket continues to grow and grow. I absolutely love the colour combination she has chosen!

I wanted some light craft today. I had seen a red and white Christmas decoration on a tree in the October issue of Country Living Magazine (British) and had a try at copying it. My heart turned out quite a different shape but I am happy with the end result. This will be my handmade Christmas decoration for 2010!

Beautiful books given to me by Mel - thank you!!!

Sam xox

Mel's crochet quilt.

Crocheting is a skill I am still trying to master. My granny squares are coming along very slowly and I still am finding it hard to find my crocheting groove. Rather than show you my poor excuses for squares, I thought I would treat you all to something a lot more pleasing to the eye.

My dear friend Mel joined me for a pancake breakfast yesterday. I begged her to bring along the blanket she is working on, so that I could take a few photos for my blog. I think her blanket is looking so beautiful, and I am willing her on to get it finished. Her choice of colours is perfect and I love the pattern that is beginning to emerge.

This is going to be a beauty.

Keep going Mel - it is looking fantastic!!!

Sam xox

Granny squares.

Thank you so much for your kind wishes about my job. As some of you know I have had a lot going on in my personal life these past 12 months, which I will leave private. This job really does mark a new and positive chapter of my life beginning, and I am over the moon!

On the weekend I visited my crafty friend Mel. She is the kind of friend I believe every girl should have. Mel always has time to listen to my worries, takes time to consider them and gently gives me advice. I always leave her place feeling like a better person than what I had arrived as.

The bonus? She is a total crafty inspiration! Her taste is seriously cool, and she always has a quirky idea to try. We never 'plan' to craft, but needless to say, within 15 minutes of my arrival we are plotting our next creative adventure.

Last weekend was no different. On Sunday morning I arrived at her place, and she explained that the night before she had taught herself to crochet via YouTube! Oh boy was I excited! One of my pledges was to crochet a dishcloth and this would be my first step towards this goal. Little did I know however, what Mel had in mind. She whipped out her crocheting project, which was a granny square.

It took precisely 2.3 seconds for me to decide that I wanted to make Granny Squares and for her to teach me (I admit I am a tad impulsive) and another 4.6 seconds for us to realise we HAD to make a trip Spotlight to buy some wool.

Here is what I have achieved thus far:

Sam xox

Cooking, crocheting, and crafting.

I have been a busy lady these past few days. It began on Sunday morning. Michelle had slept over and we were sitting chatting over a cup of tea while rain poured down outside. We were joking around and I was quite dramatically explaining to her that my style had officially changed after last weeks vintage shopping experiences. I informed her that I would now be decorating my house eclectically, with a combination of English vintage, Cottage, and French styles. Ha!

Well, Michelle lamented how she didn't have a style either (are you getting a picture of how board we were being locked up indoors?) and we proceeded to google away until we found an interior decorating style that was her.

It's now official, Michelle's style is "Modern French" and she didn't even realise. Dark timber furniture, cream/white carpets, walls and furnishings.... yes very French.

I am sure by now you are wondering where on earth I am going with all of this. Well, to hold true to my newly discovered eclectic style I decided my loungeroom cushions needed a make over!

Michelle and I headed to Spotlight Sunday afternoon to see what we could find there. Now, Spotlight is a store in Australia that is a massive homecrafts store. It is pretty mass produced and often it is hard to find fabrics that are not nasty to the eye. I was very excited when I came across two fabrics I loved! One was a beautiful ticking with dark cream and browny-green stripes, the other a very thickly woven burgundy and gold design.

I took them home and this is what I made... (one ticking cushion is missing from this picture).

Luckily I have plenty of the burgundy fabric left, so I am trying to think of something else to do with it...

I visited a thrift store on Monday, and I came across two gems.

The first was a tiny square cushion in wedgewood blue and white. It had some stains on it, so they were selling it for $3, but I took the risk. After a soak in stain remover and a wash, it is as good as new.

It has the most beautiful hand quilting detail on it.

The second gem was this gorgeous crochet blanket. Now I have tried and tried to crochet, but all my squares, well, it would not be polite to describe to you what they really turn out like :-)

This blanket was only $6 and in perfect condition.

I thought you might like a closer look.

Now for the Cooking part of this blog. Two weeks ago I ordered Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volumes 1 and 2 by Julia Child from eBay for super cheap. I was so excited when my little parcel arrived today to find the Volume 2 book had arrived (still waiting on V1 to arrive). The book is great, perfect condition, beautiful cover, except for one small detail.... the seller forgot to mention that the book is only 8 inches tall! Magnifying glass anyone???

It does have super cute diagrams though :-)

Sam xox