What a clever husband.

I have been lusting after wooden thread racks for a while now. They seem to be an aesthetically pleasing way to store spools of thread. I also like the idea of having thread on display, it helps you remember what colours you already have, before you go out and buy more for a new project.

I hunted down some nice thread racks on American eBay that I thought were being sold at an affordable price. I showed Jamie. He looked shocked. I pointed out their awesome features to him in a bid to try and convince him to say "yes" to me buying the racks. Instead, he insisted he could make them for me himself and would have them finished before any internet purchases could arrive in the post.

Together, we sat down a drew up plans to make my ultimate thread racks. It looked good on paper.

We then spent a Sunday afternoon working with meters and meters of wood, drill bits, a saw, glue and sandpaper, and after a few hours we had two thread racks each able to hold 50 spools - that 100 spools in total!

I plan on buying some cord and hanging them both above my sewing table.

Thanks Jamie! Now I know your hidden talent I will be aiming much higher next time.

Sam xox

Vintage dress patterns.

While I spend today packing away our Christmas decorations and trying to find homes for the lovely Christmas gifts we received (seriously, our table is completely covered in pressies!) I thought I would grab 5 minutes and post about three patterns I bought recently on Etsy.

I have a bit of a 'thing' lately for dresses with jackets that match. It could be something to do with this awesome skirt/jacket combo Tilly made that I fell in love with!

Sam xox

Summer time.

It has been very hot in Sydney this past week. The days are getting longer and the humidity is rising. I cleaned up my balcony this weekend so that I can possibly buy a little three piece outdoor setting to have outside. This summer I would love to spend the hot summer evenings sitting on my balcony, watching the sun set, and sharing a meal with Jamie.

In this fantasy I am sipping iced tea from these beautiful tumblers...

Low ball glasses from Grandma's Junk Drawer

Anchor Hocking Tumbler Set from linneamarie

Striped Bar Glasses from jenscloset

Red Floral Tumblers from oldstuffinboxes

Blue Glass Tumblers by winkinpossum

Sam xox

Hats.

I stumbled across this Etsy store recently, and I think I am falling in love...

yellowfield7.etsy.com

Sam xox

Merit badge.

For my birthday earlier this month, I received a merit badge from Mel for "being a happy camper". We had some interesting experiences earlier this year when we went camping (think rain, mud, bull ants, and dropping of pants) and this badge is a cute reminder of that holiday together.

Lee Meszaros selling these handmade and hand painted merit badges on Etsy. They were featured in Fankie magazine earlier this year, where Lee spoke about how she had the inspiration for her designs where she came across an old Brownies sash in a thrift store.Lee's badges are based on the traditional Boy Scout/ Girl Guide merit badges, just with a grown up twist.

This even inspired me pull out my own Girl Guide uniform that has been hiding deep in my wardrobe.

I think I need to give my old guiding sash some TLC and sew those badges back on neatly!

Sam xox

Too much of a good thing.

When you log into your etsy account, and it reminds you to leave feedback for 20 items, you know you are in for a treat. I have been falling in love with the fabrics featured in Frankie magazine, and have been thinking (hard) about making a simple tied quilt made from 8" squares of vintage florals. I turned to etsy to satisfy this urge and discovered Zwizzle, a store that sells the most amazing retro fabrics that are cut to a really useful size (fat quarters or larger).

Zwizzle were having a sale, so I purchased 20 fabrics, and because they are based in Australia I only had to wait 2 days for the parcel to arrive!

My photographs did not do their packaging justice! The photo above was taken before my parcel was sent (it is now featured in each listing) and shows the beautiful packing details so much better than my photos did. Brown paper tied with fabric strips. Perfect.

Unwrapping my parcels I found that I had been sent 5 extra fat quarters plus the two doilies! Such an awesome surprises. You can see that I have already put one doily to use under my vase.

Some of the beautiful fabrics.

Watch this space. This quilt is going to be super quick to make and I want it finished this month. I think I will either use a light weight batting or no batting at all, as it is intended as a summer quilt. I need to find a nice sheet from a thrift store to back it with, and some thick white thread to tie the quilt together. I also need to decide how big I want to make it. I am planning on doing the cutting tonight, and if time allows, I might even get the quilt top sewn.

Thanks again Zwizzle, you made my week!

Sam xox

Sculpture by the sea.

Today Jamie and I headed down to the beach to check out the annual Sculpture by the Sea. It began in 1997 and has become an iconic Sydney event. The weather this weekend has been super hot so Jamie and I put off going to the beach until late afternoon (gotta love daylight savings!). The sculptures were scattered along the coast line creating an ant-like trail of people as far as the eye could see.

You can click here to visit the Sculpture by the Sea website to see more images and learn more about the event.

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

Liberty quilt along.

I know I promised a Christmas post, but I just had to share this first! You all remember Helene from my Parcels. blog entry? Well, she is organising a Liberty of London quilt along on her blog 25reasons! You can read about it here.

The basics:

Diamond start quilt

8 x 8 blocks

74" x 74"

Tana Lawn (or similar) fabrics

Hand or machine piecing

Here are some of the blocks Helene has made so far...

I absolutely love the contrast of light and dark fabric that Helene is using. If you want to buy a bulk order of a variety of Liberty fabrics, you can always browse Shaukat, as I think their prices are very competitive when it comes to Liberty prints, and their service is first class.

Have fun and let me know how you all go! Thanks Helene for organising such a fun quilt-along.

Sam xox

Fashion design drawing course.

A while ago I read a positive review of the book Fashion Design Drawing Course (sadly I can't remember whose blog it was).

I went onto Amazon and had a look through the first couple of pages and liked what I read. The idea in the book of using something tangible in my environment to inspire my dressmaking I found really interesting. Currently I sew pretty safely, choosing patterns and fabric that are pretty conservative. The idea of beginning not with a pattern but with a colour, texture, or shape of something else entirely sounds quite liberating!

Whilst I may be jumping a little ahead of myself, as I have not yet purchased the book, I have identified my dressmaking inspiration! I am going to base my first piece on the acans corals my husband keeps in the fish tank in our living room...

At the moment I am thinking of working with plain cotton fabric and dye, with some embellishments too for shape... possibly making a skirt?

Sam xox