Have you looked at Fave Quilts?

At the start of the year I got a lovely email from Jessica from Fave Quilts saying that they had featured one of my patchwork tutorials on their web site. Fave Quilts is a great resource if you are into patchwork and quilting. Lots of links to resources and ideas. They also do a newsletter, so go ahead and sign up to it.

The one that they featured was the Sixteen Patch Baby Quilt. The result has been a rise in the hits of my blog (but not comments .. what is going on!).

It was great to get feedback from someone about what I blog about, as often it feels like you are putting it out there and no-one is reading it (although the stats say a different story).

So have you tried our tutorial?

Can you take a few minutes to give me some feedback?

Back to work style ideas

I lost myself in Polyvore a few nights ago and had fun building this up as a storyboard for what I'd love to be seen in this year.

I've never been a fashion follower, but in the last few months I have spent more on shoes than I think I have in the last 5 years. I am enjoying the 1950's Mad Men, Pan Am style that is coming through the shops at the moment.

In a few weeks time I am hoping to have a go at making a 1950's dress, so I am on the hunt for fabric that will suit my aesthetic and yet be true to the 1950's statement.

We have Golden Orb babies!

We had given up all hope of this Garden Orb Weaver (Nephila Edulis) nest hatching but this morning as I went out to check on my garden I noticed that the nest had indeed hatched.

Breathtaking!

Not as dramatic as Charlotte's Web, but still quite magnificent. I'd like to think that they are the reason why we got the 150 days settlement. Hard to believe that it will take another 12- 18 months before these guys lay their eggs.

As you can imagine, the size of the spiderlings are about the size of a pin head (the old pins without plastic)

Finished "Come and get me" Quilt Top

I still have to put the eye in the ghost, but hopefully it is obvious the pop culture reference this bit of patchwork is making.

I am particularly proud of the rounded corner on the ghost.

I am hoping to steal an hour tomorrow to applique the eye in place and then start to quilt it.

Updating Etsy with Pouches

I am busy updating Konstant Kaos Etsy Shop today with some pouches and pencil cases that I have made. My goal was to get all my stuff on etsy by the time I go back to teaching (we'll see!).

All of them use high quality zips and are machine washable.

Come and get me patchwork block 1

I had a play around with the first block of the cushion. The yellow patches are from my scrap box.

I am still ambivalent as to whether to make it 5 rows or 7 for the pillow.

If my cold manages to clear today, I am hoping to sew this up properly.

Come and get me patchwork pillow

On the Curlypops blog last week she posed the question about her Pacman inspired design, whether she should be able to sell these craft panels.

It got me thinking about other projects that I have seen around the blogosphere. There are plenty of products that hint at the genre of computer games in the 80's, I am sure that not all of those products pay a fee to the original creators of Pacman or Space Invaders.

So I sat down and sketched out my idea of a patchwork "come and get me" pillow. I have some Pacman inspired fabric that I bought from Fat Quarter shop a while back and I am itching for a small project to start and finish in the one sewing session for Nicholas' room.

I suspect when I create it, it will be a bit more refined and a bit more patchy! I'm going to make it to fit one of the Ikea pillow inserts (feather of course).

What do you think of my "Come and get me" pillow, fair use or break of copyright?

Why I haven't been on twitter lately

I can't believe that in one month my little boy will be turning 1.

Since we got back from Sleep School, he has gone from strength to strength. We are now crawling and cruising and clearly saying Dadda. We are giggling and doing "happy dances". He wants to stand everywhere which makes bath times fun! His crawling speed is now quite fast, so you need to make sure that everything is out of reach, including cat food!

He has just started Childcare and I can't believe how easy he has settled in. My daughter had separation anxiety most mornings when I dropped her off, but Nicholas just crawls off into the distance and doesn't look back. When I pick him up he looks up, smiles at me and then goes back to what he was doing. I finally feel that the universe has given me a "break", 2012 is going to be a good year.

I am gearing up to go back to work. I start prep work next week and then we are back the week after on the 25th January. I am hoping to set up my desk next week and have my first week of lessons sorted and the unit timelines done.

As for crafty stuff, I have been busy de-stashing via Pin, Cut, Sew etsy shop where I will be putting fabric and patterns for sale. I have also re-opened Konstant Kaos etsy shop and I am busy taking pictures of my stock for that shop as well. The chances of me doing markets this year is quite remote, but I still want to create and sell.

If you have a minute please "befriend" both Pin, Cut, Sew on Facebook and also Konstant Kaos on Facebook and share the link with your friends.

Blast from the past

I managed to get my act together and actually catch up with a few people for coffee this morning, before heading down to Gleaners Inc for a spot of crafty shopping.

The cafe had an eclectic collection of furniture and I found myself getting all excited over this chair!

My Mum used to have a dining setting like this! I remember it well, but I couldn't remember whether it had a glass or wooden octagonal table that went with it!

New Kaos Cap

I love Vistaprint. Their business model is to encourage clients to try their new products with the hope that they will return and buy more!

One of their specials was a cap. I've been running with one of my hubby's caps on, so I thought I would order one and see what the quality would be like. The cap cost about $15, including postage and printing on the back (my URL). I haven't taken it for a spin yet, but it's pretty good!

Over the years I have gotten business cards, notepads and t-shirts done through Vistaprint. Lots of fun!

To print or not to print

I've been busy researching whether it is worthwhile to produce patterns in PDF or paper based.

I have a few ideas kicking around my head that I would love to put into print. I personally don't have time to make lots of things at the moment, but I would love to see others make my creations.

So what are your views? What are your experiences? I would love to hear from you.
To print or not to print?

Sometimes I swirl!

I came across this shop on etsy while seeking out some new artwork for my walls. I love the freedom in the design and the detail.

Isn't this gorgeous! I love this hoop art.


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And this drawing is gorgeous!


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It reminds me a little bit of the Zentagle work that Beky from PivX was doing.

Day 7 #JANPhotoaday - Favourite

Hmmm Irn Bru is one of my favorite drinks, especially with vodka.

Inspiration for a quilt

Mum has this towel hanging on the line. The colours are gorgeous, but I can see it being an appliquéd quilt. What do you think?

Summertime Quilting

It has been quite hot here in Melbourne this week, ideal day to quilt in an air-conditioned room. How do you handle the heat? What do you do?

Day 3 #JANphotoaday - Something you Adore

The theme for today is "Something you Adore", and while I adore my children and cats, it's probably my hubby that I adore the most at the moment.

We have been together since 1990, and I loved watching him grow and evolve into a loving father.

Day 2 #JANphotoaday Breakfast

Most mornings consist of only a cup of tea before I get Nicholas and Tori sorted out. Once they are set I grab my breakfast. I'm not an early riser, so the whole "getting up before the kids wake" doesn't really work for me at the moment.

I've playing around with making "blogging on the go" easier, so I trialled the Blogger App for my iPhone this morning. Took a pic, wrote up some bits and pieces and then refined it when I had a moment to myself. How do you make blogging easier?

Staged, but you get the picture!

Are you playing along? Head over to Fat, Mum, Slim and let her know

How are you getting organized for 2012

How did you organize your family in 2011? I want to know!

We had a monthly calender on the wall, our iPhone Calendars and then a weekly planning sheet that we filled out on a Sunday night. But this year the game will be changed with me going back to work part time. So on top of this, I will also have a teacher lesson planner diary.

What tools do you use to organize yourself?

Do you use something like this cute desktop calendar by Missy Minzy

Or perhaps something like this, a downloadable planner and diary from CrystalWilkerson.com

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Comment and tell me how you are getting organized for 2012 ... please!

Day 1 #JANphotoaday Topic "Me"

This blog has become quite barren in the second half of last year. So to jump start things I have decided to attempt to participate in #JANphotoaday that Fat, Mum, Slim is running.

So the topic for today is "Me" ...

Sitting at the computer with a cup of hot tea in one of my gorgeous Nicola Cerini Mugs. Last year I decided that life was too short to sip tea out of crappy mugs with cracks in them. So when Myer had a sale on we stocked up on some lovely mugs in each of her designs.

If you would like to join the movement, simply blog, twit or FB a picture of you with the hash tag #JANphotoaday. Check out Fat, Mum, Slim for more details. And it's "ok" if you don't do it each day.