Printed T's 4 sale!

Hello!

How's it going?

I had such a great morning this morning. I had breakfast with an old friend of mine who I haven't caught up with in ages. I was her brides maid and my kids were her flower girls when she got married, I was with her when she birthed her baby. But still for some reason or other its been a long time between lattes (or champas).

There was so much to catch up on. So much has changed. But still I was relieved that nothing has changed between us. We chatted for ages and then I came home all inspired to do some screen printing and look what I found when I went to get my supplies...a whole pile of t's I printed last year.

I printed the trees here, the owls here, the caravans here and the seals here.

So, here's the thing: I want to move them quickly and you need hand made prezzies for the end of the year. So I have popped them in my shop at $16 each with free postage to anywhere in Australia.

That's right!

There are lots of designs and colours and free postage in Australia!!

I'll be adding more over the weekend too, I've just run out of time to photograph them.

I hope you have a great weekend!

I hope you get to catch up with an old friend soon too. Its such fun!

And for all those who emailed asking where to buy Solvy, I'm so sorry but mine was gifted to me and I have no idea where to find more. Maybe try your local craft shop.

See ya!

Owl printing.

I had a request for an owl print a while ago so I thought I'd better get printing.

Jazzy is painting her rock family on the other side of the table.

Thank you sooooo much to everyone who has commented or emailed to ask if my printed t'shirts and sheet skirts and dresses are for sale. After the girls go back to school I hope to open an online shop where all of these Foxs Lane handmade goodies will be available to buy.

Watch this space...

And here's the bunny update;

Its a bit slow going at the moment because of a shoulder injury, but I still hope to open the bidding up for auction asap with all proceeds going to the Haiti relief effort.

Happy Australia Day!!

Owls, cottons and teachers' presents.

Look hoooooooooooooo arrived in the mail today.

A little while ago the lovely Leah admired one of the pot holders I had crocheted and asked if I wanted to do a swap. One of the most fun aspects of blogging for me so far is the swap, so I quickly accepted.

Can you imagine how much Indi, my owl lover, is going to adore these gorgeous, made from the softest thrifted jumper, little friends? I reckon there will be a bit of squealing. To be honest, there was a bit of squealing from me when I opened the package.

Thank you so, so much Leah, your work is divine, I'll pop your package in the post this afternoon.

I also got a package from Bendigo Woolen Mills. Nine more balls of their wonderful cotton (they were on sale!!!!) I love working with their cotton about as much as I love having them on display in the kitchen.

So today its all about catching up on the laundry and presents for the teachers as school finishes tomorrow. I've got a ridiculous amount still to make but I can't think of a better way to spend this afternoon. Washers and rose brooches here I come.

And maybe a few more cherries because they are so quick and easy to make, and because I always prefer making other things more than what I should be making.

I hope you are having a lovely Wednesday.

Love Kate

XX

Saturday crafternoon.

I am crocheting a rainbow of Michelle's Grandma Twinkle Stars. They are so easy and quick to make. The perfect Saturday afternoon kitchen table project.

Indi is using my old Bernina to make an owl softie called 'Princess'. She is going to be a very pink and girly owl.

Jazzy is threading a necklace for her teacher.

And Bren is trying to distract Pepper with a Dick Bruna-a-thon.

Yesterday's challah is calling to be made into toast with jam for afternoon tea.

I hope you are having a crafty afternoon.

My place and yours - Our collections.

I love collections!

I love the way having a few of something together changes the way it looks as a single thing.

I have so many collections, mostly craft related but for this post I am limiting myself to one and have chosen my rubber duck collection.

This collection sits in the kid's bathroom on the window ledge (too dark in there today). The ducks I have bought are always second hand but I have been given some gorgeous new ones over the years. The ducks are pulled down and dragged around the house, but I don't like them in the bath because some of them are a bit old and used. I haven't bought a new one to add to the collection for ages because the window ledge is quite full, but I have considered building them their own shelf so I can.

Bren collects tools. No rules about where they come from or new or used, just lots and lot of tools. A while ago he had a dream that he was driving around the back streets of Daylesford and came across a new hardware shop hidden away. Somewhere only the locals knew about. He was disappointed when he woke up.

Indi collects owls.

Jazzy collects Barbies.

And Pepper collects words. I can't remember what the other two were like at this age but her language and sense of humour astounds me. She calls her toy turtle Armpit, she told me last night that she wanted to sleep in a huge bed (not a cot) in Indi's house (room), and she calls Bren Brenny, 'Bye Brenny, I taking the big girls to school now'.

Thanks so much for playing along this week and letting us have a look at your collection and thanks so much Pip for letting me choose and wear the crown for the week.

My place and yours - On the shelf.

On the shelf at my place are Indi's owl softies.

This quartet generally live on a shelf next to her bed but they have also been known to travel around the house when we are in need of a cuddle or some inspiration.

At the moment they are hanging out on a shelf in the kitchen under the kewpie dolls.

From left to right they are: Flower, made on the school holiday program, Grass, screen printed here and sewn up here, Hoot, made and received as a birthday present by the lovely Wrattan family and Spot made by Indi here.

For a peek into the worlds and onto the shelves of lots more crafty types pop on over to Pip's.

While you are here why don't you enter my giveaway?

Pretty Pink Cardi.

Remember that thing I was crocheting a few days ago?

This lovely Bebop cardi is what it turned into. The pattern comes from here.

This is the first piece of clothing I have ever crocheted. It was really easy to make with no seams and all familiar stitches.

The only problem is that is doesn't fit the Birthday girl but instead looks really good on her almost two year old sister. Do I have time to make a bigger one by Friday?

I made the flower brooch as a closure but I think it would look great with a big old wooden button too.

In other exciting news, Indi's owl softie is on the One Pretty Thing site today. Yay!

Have you entered my giveaway yet?

How Indi made a softie.

This morning Indi (aged eight), and I found ourselves home alone for a few hours and decided to make an owl softie.

First off, we heat set one of the owls we screen printed yesterday. We did this by ironing the back of it.

She then drew around the shape of the owl adding a couple of centimetres, the seam allowance.

Then she cut along the line she had just drawn.

Earlier in the week we had been to the local craft shop to buy some elastic and the girls chose a fat quarter each for holiday crafting. I love letting them buy fabric because it is guilt free shopping for me. Indi chose this floral print.

The printed side of the owl and the right side of the floral were placed face to face and then the two were pinned together.

Indi then cut the floral fabric by tracing around the owl shape.

At this point I decided she was probably ready for a quick sewing machine lesson so I got out my old Bernina, saved for exactly this moment, and set it up.

I showed her the basics and then drew a whole lot of squiggly lines on some fabric which she traced using the machine. She got it so quickly and was dying to make something.

She then machine sewed around the line of the owl print that could be seen from the wrong side. Obviously this seam could also be hand sewn.

I marked a big line on the fabric for where she had to stop sewing. A gap between the start of the seam and the end has to be left for turning the right way out and stuffing. The gap was about eight or ten centimetres wide.

She then pushed the owl through that space we left in the stitching to turn it the right way out. She used the wrong side of a texta to press into the ears to push them right out into shape.

And then she stuffed him with enough stuffing to give him a good shape but not too full or he wouldn't be cuddly.

I forgot to take a photo of the seam she sewed to close him up. Obviously there are ways to do invisible, neat closing seams, but as we were in need of a quick finish at this point in time she just machine sewed along the outside.

Then, assuming we had finished, I left her to go and make a call and when I got back she was accessorising her owl by sewing him a scarf.

What fun!

Tomorrow she wants to make a bag.

Printing on a rainy afternoon.

We had a crappy day yesterday. We ended up in hospital with Miss eight and an unidentified itchy, red, raw rash.

She's much better today but we are all a bit slow and fragile.

I've been dying to get back to some more printing but the girls were not overly inspired with their drawing or cutting stencils so I took over.

My drawing were certainly not as inspired as theirs, but once I'd cut them out they were happy to take over and squeegee.

As we were printing there was lots of chatter about a stall at the Daylesford Makers' Market, softies, pockets and patches. Don't you love that feeling of the more you make the more you want to make?

I hope you have a great week and get to see at least a little sunshine where ever you are.