last weekend i had a lovely time at my dad’s farm with my brother, sis-in-law, newest niece and 92 yr old grandma, who is amazing. Managed to get some knitting done in my pj’s, had a walk in the late afternoon light, ate some yummy food (thanks Z), rounded up the very docile neighbors bull and just relaxed. But not in that order!

this weekend i returned from bendigo to find some treats in the mail . . a gorgeous necklace from Amber White of beadinbabe and some great recycled paper fridge magnets from Green Post. great packaging that included a thank you love heart that must have seeds in it as it says to plant the card! cool. Plus my madeit cards have arrived! Looking forward to using these.

I discovered yesterday the Bendigo RSPCA op shop when I went to buy a decent size mug for my morning tea, and I couldn’t resist going back for a vase, well, a lovely old glass jug. Then I had to grab some purple stocks to brighten up the coffee table. Also I couldn’t resist some pre-loved linen with bag or scarf potential and a stunning embroidered tablecloth. The pic doesn’t do the colour of it justice. My Grandma hand embroidered one that was similar but all in shades of cream.On another note I have to say a big thank you to .girl ferment. for a brilliant mention on her blog about one of my bags that she purchased. Thank you, I am tickled pink!! (and quite literally as I am an easy blusher). Her blog is one of my new distractions and has great pics and inspiring craftiness. Love the knitted NGA project.

And also a mention to my other latest read, Red Letter Studio who has some gorgeous stationery and is a talented graphic designer with a lovely blog. She purchased one of my fav jingle birds. I love her travel cards (below and found on madeit) and i know my mum would love the bird ones.

I think I have a New Zealand tea towel obsession! I found these tea towels on my last NZ visit and had to make them into cushions for my lounge. They take five minutes to make, I just cut a tea towel in half across the middle and sew in a long zip the same colour as the border. They have an art deco feel to me. Maybe its the writing style. They also remind me of my brother and his family living in NZ, so nice to have on the couch at home.

I also recently sold a jingle bird, and I have been trying different packaging and wrapping styles where I can use fabric scraps. Here’s what I ended up sending off.
Plus I bought myself some make it perfect patterns from duckcloth, very keen to give the wrap around skirt a go!

Some lovely women just bought my pleated purse and the great retro orange flower bag, thanks!! I love this fabric, all recycled from the opShop using salvaged tablecloths and sheets. Happy to give old gorgeous fabrics a new lease of life as something useful.

Meanwhile I spent last weekend in Bendigo doing all the touristy things including a tour of the townhall, beautifully restored with gold leaf – here’s a shot of the main ball room with the decorated ceiling. Its a lovely light space, and I love thinking of all the people that have had fun nights there in the past.

the lovely Jo of LoveStamp has a started a ‘Sunday Giveaway’ showcasing crafty people and I am very lucky to be first up. I am giving away this softie, Barry Brown Pants, and this Rosebud zip purse. See Jo’s blog for details on how to win, and keep in touch with her newsletters to see all the great giveaways coming up! and good luck!

I just finished and added to my online shops this new scarf, I love the fabric and the buttons. It is nice and soft. I need to make one for myself, and am going to look at lining one with some thin wadding for more warmth. I am freezing in my old house today! I’ve ordered some lovely red knitted hand warmers from Ariema, and wish I was wearing them now.

I had to pop into the opshop to see if they had some fabric to make some cushions that would match my nana’s old lounge suite, that I recently scored from dad’s shed. Its a gorgeous deep peacock blue. My old couch was red, so I did need some new cushions. I found an actual cushion ready to use (the green one which has tiny touches of blue – sorry pic a bit blurry), plus some old tablecloths. So this afternoon I got the old husqvarna going.

I have been off the radar for a few weeks, the reason being I have just had my house re-plastered and painted, so no more cracks and a new gorgeous red front door. So the last few weekends have been packing and unpacking and cleaning plaster dust off everything. I think I have mopped the floors about 5 times in 2 weeks. I have only just set up the PC, but my sewing goodies are all still packed, I am waiting for some more shelves for the spare room to set up properly. Of course I am itching to get sewing! soon.

meanwhile, garry green pants goes bye byes. A lovely customer has purchased barry’s big brother, so I popped in in the post yesterday. All my bunnies comes in a fabric bag as part of the packaging, this one is from a tablecloth i found at Savers. I hope he is enjoyed in his new home!

the mornings are crisp on my walk to work in Bendigo, and the leaves are changing into their autumn colours. It’s a lovely time of year, nice to be rugged up with the scarf and mittens in the morning, and watching the leaves change. I hope you have a good autumn day!