Buttercups for Gingernut

Little redheads look good in yellow, right?



I bought this yellow polkadot dress from Little Cooties at Made N Thornbury on the weekend. It's a size 2 so I might lend it as a hand-me-up while Baby Amy's waiting to grow into it. I can think of two kiddies who might fit into it - Cousin Emma and Brother Jack...



This little cross stitched kimino dolly (I can't really call a baby's doll a geisha, can I?) is the talented work of my best friend Kirsten. She found the cross stitch pattern in a book and had the genius idea of backing it with felt and stuffing it to make a doll suitable for little baby hands. Gorgeous!

Grumble - why is Blogger's idea of 'large' images so titchy? I resize my photos to 600 pixels along the longest side before uploading and that's the size I want them to be!

Two Cheese Please on Mr X Stitch

For many months I've dreamed about creating something so highly skilled and unique that it captures the attention of art/craft blogger Mr X Stitch. And the next best thing is seeing someone I know on this top-notch blog!



Yep, that's Holly (Restless Willow) of Two Cheese Please. Congrats Holly, you're a worldwide (web) star!

What's a home without some decor?

Hubby T recently declared he was sick of living like povos with op shop furniture and wanted a proper grown-up dining table and chairs. What a dilemma for the salvagey/creative type - first I was compelled to defend the Formica and chrome table I'd op shopped for a mere $15 (I'm less passionate about the assorted ex-office chairs acquired for $5 a piece), then I asked how much I was allowed to spend at Ikea.

A compromise - what if I got new chairs to suit the vintage table? No, it all has to be new.

What if I got four different chairs in matching colours to suit each member of the family? No, everything has to match.

I finally struck on a means of expressing my creativity through brand new matching furniture - customising the chairs myself. My first idea was to buy these Nordmyra chairs...

...and cover the seats and backrests with posh wrapping paper and varnish.
Of course, I'd need a different wrapping paper for each chair. Hubby T was fine with this as long as his was left plain.

Hubby T is looking forward to the era where we all wear matching grey jumpsuits.

After reading about covering chair seats in my newly purchased book Salvage Sisters (I'll review it another day) I abandoned the papered chairs idea in favour of upholstered seats. Those Nordmyras didn't look super comfy or ideal for young children anyway. Instead I found Borje chairs in a small range of colours, with removable seat covers.

What could be easier than making new covers to replace these boring-as-hell white ones? And what could challenge my interior design (ahem) 'skills' more than finding the perfect combination of chair colour and seat fabric?

I've been through the websites of every Australian screenprinter I can find, starting with Konstant Kaos' comprehensive directory, looking for the perfect fabric. Some designers, like Ink & Spindle and PippiJoe, offer prints on specific upholstery weight fabric.


Most stick to quilting weight fabrics, but might print some of their designs onto high-quality linen tea towels (see Flower Press and Yardage Design) which I imagine would stand up to being sat on.


And I can't forget the gorgeous linen tea towels printed by Olive Grove Studios' very own Roze Elizabeth:

After looking at every fabric a dozen times I think I've found what I want, although a basecloth with a heavier GSM might be a better idea. Imagine PippiJoe's Waterhens on black chairs:

Cute, huh?

Another concept I'm very tempted by is a variety of Poulier & Poulier tram scroll tea towels on black chairs:

With a cheeky tram scroll-inspired menu by Yardage Design thrown in:

I think I'd be sold on this ieda if it didn't feel a bit too Real Living colour-by-numbers 'Eclectic'.

Do you have a favourite design by a local screenprinter you'd love to swathe your furniture in? Have I missed a to-die-for option?

Handmade for Amelia

While bloggers on all sides celebrate Blogtoberfest, it takes me until the 16th to do my second post for the month. I can hardly even find the time and mental capacity to read other people's blog entries, let alone write some myself.

As for crafting - pah! I have indeed started sewing again this week but only the painfully slow construction of tram cushions in preparation for Christmas orders. I should be grateful that they only take twice as long with two kids in the house.

I do have one personal creative project on the horizon but first I'll share some more of my lucky baby girl's gorgeous handmade possessions.


The blue dress is the result of my Jump Rope Dress Sew-Along project, and the red one was custom made by Madeleine of Cherry Stew. I was on a stall next to Madeleine for four weeks during last year's Kris Kringle Market and every week I told her if I only had a little girl I'd buy all her dresses. So when I saw her at a market the day after finding out we were having a girl I had to live up to my promises!


Madeleine has been selling her unique screenprinted dresses for a few years and has recently branched (tree, branch) out into wall art and quilts. Check out her work and upcoming markets!


You've seen this ted made by my sister (it's got a twin on the way) but this is the first time I've shared the sweet Lilli doll by Nini & Wink I bought at Craft Hatch in June.


Nini & Wink had so many beautiful dolls it was nearly impossible to choose just one. I hesitated over buying a redhaired doll in case my little girl wasn't a redhead herself, but fellow stallholder Konstant Kaos pointed out that it could always be a doll that looks like Mum rather than a doll like my little girl. Turns out it'll be a doll that looks like Amelia after all!

Amelia does have one more exquisite handmade doll but I couldn't find it at the time of photography. Last I saw it Jack was using it as a mobile phone. As soon as the doll is relocated she'll get a post all of her own.

Handmade for Baby

Baby Amy has been given lots of gorgeous handmade gifts, which means I can keep up with blog posts despite not making anything myself!

Yesterday Miss Amelia enjoyed the sunshine with the quilt made by her grandma and the first of a pair of teds made by Aunty Christine.

The quilt is even bigger than shown in this photo.

I chose the fabrics and the pieced orange peel design. To me the block looks like petals, but it can also look like circles.

The backing fabric echoes the orange peel block!

Roxy Baby doesn't care about any of these details, just that it's good for naps.