My new love, upholstery.

I started an upholstery course with my friend, Max, 7 weeks ago and have totally fallen for the whole process. There's something about the combination between the practical hands on and visual aesthetics involved in transforming a chair which really appeals to me.
Sadly, the course has now finished but I'm still hoping to dedicate my Monday afternoons to transforming chairs in our garage.
Here's my first attempt. The original chair was purchased from Wally Johnson's, in Footscray (previously in West Melbourne..now on the continuation of Spencer Street).
The fabric I used was Arthur Sanderson's 'Persian Poppies'. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

A revival......

It's been a long hiatus but instead of hibernating this winter I'm feeling like making a revival. I'm in desperate need of an update and overhaul...so here's hoping Z man sleeps for 2 hour blocks each day so I can manage to get some handy work done. Sleep is gold little man.

Pink to go

A rather shabby shot..but a new quilt top I finished yesterday for Ziya's little pal. I'm not used to seeing so much pink in our house, so it's been really fun making this one up.

Angus' quilt

Finished back in December...some of you may remember i started this project last year. It's a quilt made for my nephew, Angus. Completely hand quilted and quite the labor of love.
It now hangs over the side of his cot, in preparation for his graduation to a big boys bed.
The fabric and pattern are all from Amitte. I especially love the sweet Japanese strips with the country scene....ambling bears and dreamy ducks...
Hopefully he'll treasure it forever (even when he does think it's rather daggy).

Farley proof press

Farley proof press
Originally uploaded by 66 Stitches

This is a Farley proof press I acquired from a friend....a few years back. It's been sitting idle in my garage so last weekend I decided to get it out today and clean it up. Now I need to find supplies and research how to use it. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Activity on the blog front has been rather slow since August of 2009, actually, it's been completely neglected but I have continued to upload my creative endeavours onto Flickr. For a quick refresher please pop over and take a peep.

Here's to a big bright 2010 full of producivity and more 'single pointed focus'...my greatest challenge for the year ahead.

Papercut pick up

Look at this amazing papercut I picked up for $3 from the op shop last week. It's all hand cut and signed by 'E.Nowosielski QLD Austrlia'. It makes me so happy.

If you're loving papercuts as much as me at the moment you may also like to check out Elista Mora's incredible blog; 'The Heart of Papercuts'. You'll be blown away.

St Kilda Mums

There are very few things Ziya receieved as a baby that he still wears/uses to the present day (such as the much loved teddy pictured here) and there are plenty of things that had such a short lifespan (in some cases, sadly...one wear only!)

I still marvel at the amount of clothing a new born baby churns through. I felt like I was sorting out Ziya's clothes draw on a weekly basis the first few months of his life. Now there are the bags of outgrown clothes that seem never ending. While reading through the local Divercity (official Newsletter of Port Phillip) I cam across an article on the 'St Kilda Mums'. They are a network of mother's who work together to collect and sort donations of baby and children's clothing, toys, books and equipment and then redistribute them, via the maternal helth system, to local families in need. I love it! Well done ladies. I have a big bag of goods coming your way.

While on the subject of articles...the lovely Mel, of The Hip Infant, has witten a piece about our trip to the Flinders on her blog. Thanks Mel. Now there's one inspisational woman...4 kids, a thriving business, home renovations, a fitness plan...that she sticks to and endless amounts of energy. Hat's off to you Mel and thank you. x

While you're over at Mel's blog take a look at the entry on Baby Lunchbox. I marveled at this but for completely different reasons. Where do people find the time...?