Patchwork potholder

This little patchwork pot holder tutorial is another great way to use up fabric scraps. I have a pile of left over fleece from my quilting (recommended by an experienced quilter instead of batting. It's easier to manage...and very warm. I must say, I'm converted), so I'll use that again here to line the pot holder.
I love getting rid of all my scraps. It means I can go out and restock with a whole lot of new exciting fabric and a trip to Patchwork On Central Park.
A big thank you to lindamade who put the tutorial together.

Brunschwig & Fils

I was lucky enough to come across a pile of Brunschwig & Fils fabric recently which I've put to good use making Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillows (are you bored of them yet? I think I'm slightly obsessed)...
The first, you'll see below, as I blogged about it yesterday and #2, the lush apricot corduroy ottoman is here. If you have a chance to visit the amazing Brunschwig & Fils showroom...where else but in High St, Armadale...do, as it's truely mind blowing.

Another box ticked

Today I finished off my Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillow, which I posted about earlier.
The pattern specified Nature-Fil stuffing which I was unable to find anywhere here in Australia. So, I opted for good old Hobby Fill. Three large bags, were just enough to tightly pack this heavy poof. Now I can sit bak with my feet up and watch tv on him.

Linocut Tutorial

Here is a sweet little linocut tutorial from Sunberst. Beth at Sunberst also started found: in japan, a print exchange collaboration which is a collaborative print editioning project which is then turned into a hand sewn book. You can also sign up to recieve Beth's newletter and keep up to date on her projects here.

Geninne's new shop.

Geninne from Geninne's Art Blog, in Mexico, has recently opened her own etsy store. You'll find her beautiful watercolours available there in signed limited edition format, printed on either hand made paper or ply. I've been a big fan of Geninne's blog for sometime now, so I'm really excited about owning my very own piece.
Take a look at Geninne's house in Flickr. Built by her architect husband, Manol, his use of timber and lightfilled aspects are incredible.

Treats & Treasures

Treats & Treasures is a beautiful look into Marieke Berghuis Leewens visual diary. It details all the things "too pretty not to pay attention to...." There are no words to this blog just page after page of beautiful journal entries. It's very refreshing and has inspired me to start doing the same. I hope it inspires you too.

Marieke also has some lovely free knitting patterns in her side bar. I particularly like these...mmmmmm, and this.

Finito!

Here's a little peak at my finished quilt. For more photos take a look at my Flickr.

Simply French

I love the cover of this book, Simple Sewing with a French Twist. As Eliza, over at Miss Woolly, will tell you... I'm mad for red in my craft projects, which is no doubt why I love the look of this book.
'Céline Dupuy presents sewers of all skill levels with more than fifty projects, each with a touch of something wonderfully, whimsically French. Including easy items to sew for the home, fashion accessories, delightful gifts, and innovative ideas for customizing your favorite pieces of furniture...'
It's on sale over at amazon.

PS. Thank you to those who tried to leave comments..and emailed me instead. I have now updated the comments section so everyone should be able to leave a comment. They are very much appreciated!

cup cake heaven

Not exactly craft but these are quite a work of art. There are hundreds of recipes and baking tips on this site too. Cupcake Bakeshop is now officially a favorite. I have absolutely no idea which cakes to start with though (thanks again Ladle).
While I'm talking about recipes, I made the slow cooked veal shanks with vegetable and giant couscous from one of my new cookbooks, Saha. If you ever managed to book a table a Momo, before it turned into Jamie Oliver's Thirteen, you'll know just how incredible Greg Malouf's dishes are...I highly recommend the book, especially if you love foods with a Middle Eastern flavor. His website has a number of printable recipes too. Take a look here. (How fantastic is giant couscous, I've never used it before! - ahhh, can you tell I'm excited?).

Sixty Six Stitches & a new header.

Just incase you didn't recognise this page, I'm working on a new header. It's not quite there yet but I'm onto to it.

Last night I made slow cooked veal shanks with vegetable and giant couscous from one of my new cookbooks, Saha. If you ever managed to book a table a Momo, before it turned into Jamie Oliver's Thirteen, you'll know just how incredible Greg Malouf's dishes are...and this was no exception. I highly recommend the book, especially if you love foods with a Middle Eastern flavor. His website has a number of printable recipies. Take a look here.

inspirational monday

This fantastic wallet is by Massey & Rogers. Its called 'Urban Garden' and is made from screen printed cotton and recycled paper. I love the eclectic buttons and tie which really make it for me.

.....and my friend Ladle, sent the details for this gorgeous Japanese site (which is a little easier to navigate than BG Shop)... Linnet: Linen, Fabric & Zakka Shop. I could go crazy with this Linen Interlining Cloth!

Some other inspiring images to get your creativity jumping this Monday morning:
Amy's soft fork spoon and plate set.
Shim & Sons restocked shop.
and...Fran at Mrs Eliot Books tagged pictorial.
Here's to a productive week. xox

Details of Turkey

These are a couple of my favorite photos from our recent trip to Turkey.
1. Caravanserai Entrance, Eastern Turkey, 2. Marble Door, Ayia Sophia, Istanbul, 3. Silk Quilt at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, 4. 16th Century Kilim, Istanbul

If you are interested in Turkish rugs and carpets take a tour through this Filckr group.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Wreck This Journal

This morning I am quite intrigued by the new book by Keri Smith of Wish Jar, Wreck This Journal–an activity book for creative destruction. I came across it via Natascha s Rosenberg's blog and like her, I too would find the exercises a little disconcerting.....but challenging and..let's face it, somewhat satisfying. I'm such a purist when is comes to books. I hate the idea of making a mistake or even worse having to cross something out. Hence, my (rather boring) dilema about filling in my new address book back here.

Anyway, I'll ponder the quest for creative destruction while I'm hand quilting this morning. I'm almost done quilting this... (my on again off again quilting project. Which has been completely hand stitched and is nearing to an end. Hoorah for hand stitching....it's like the craft alternative to the slow food movement).

For those of you who love to dance as much as I do. Take a look a Robin, The Dancing Man who makes me want to drive through the Kew junction all day long. There really should be more dancing on the streets. Shake it baby.

Enviro-sax

I love my new enviro-sax. I bought the Graphic Series Flora Pouch set after reading about them on Amy's blog. The pouch contains 5 different flora designs. Each bag folds up into a tiny roll that fits into your pocket. Thanks to these tiny little suckers, I'll never be caught unprepared in the supermarket again.
I've taken them on a couple of test runs this week and stacked them full of goodies. They're made of nylon and super stitched for extra strength so they hold even your heaviest items without a strain. Plus, they're Australian.

BG Shop

Ok, I'm so excited I don't know where to start. I've just come across this incredible online Japanese Store called BG Shop. Take the link there or search through Google and hit the translate button.

This is a hint of what you'll find over there, cheerful Atelier Lzc cotton clothes. Honestly, hours will be spent there from here on out (and plenty of cash too).

My desire to organise everything is running overtime with these fantastic Shaker wooden boxes.

and these French cup and saucer sets (which are selling out fast). Oh, I'd love to take my morning coffee in one of these.
Head on over and have fun. Let me know if you buy anything!

Wayne Theibaud

I've always loved the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud for it's playfulness and simplicity. Now, much to my delight, there is a childrens book detailing his paintings, etchings and drawings in counting with Wayne Theibaud (by Susan Goldman Rubin). It's available from the lovely little online childrens store Craftsbury Kids.

There's a Wayne Theibaud retrospective over here if you'd like to read more about him too.

Bliss

I purchased a new address book on Friday from Readings, in Acland st. It's a Jill Bliss design and is part of her Native Flower Habitats collection. It's so beautiful I don't want to write in it incase I make a mistake. I feel like I'm back in grade one and have just been handed a new excerise book. It's been so long since I've actually written anything other than a shopping list, the thought of neat hand writing makes me quite nervous.

Jill Bliss, of Blissen, recently added an embroidery machine to her studio...resultying in the amazing work above .....and they have a great online shop to sift through. There's all sorts of things from t-shirts, tote bags, mirrors, pin sets and even some fabric jewlery (I'm quite keen on this pinwheel flower necklace).

I've spent the afternoon updating my sidebar and adding in a few of my favorite craft links. Bento TV has been a long love of mine, so I hope it makes your day and Sarah becomes a regular companion. Enjoy touring around and please come back and visit soon.

Amy Butler Gum Drops

I took a trip to Patchwork On Central Park yesterday and quite by chance came across this fantastic pattern by Amy Butler for gum drop pillows. Ta da, my project this week is to source the fabrics, filling and materials to create one.
It was my first trip out to Patchwork on Central Park and it was such a worthy adventure. The ladies there were so helpful, they have a long list of classes and their fabrics are awe inspiring! I've enrolled to take a bag making course in September and can't wait to get back there to select my fabrics.

There are a whole ton of other great patterns by Amy here too.