First Swap

48 fat quarters of lovely vintage sheets are on their way to Kel's place for a bit of a swap!

I am very excited to see what comes back to me in a couple of weeks!
There is still time to join in, pop over here for more information.
Have a happy weekend!

Recycling yarn

I bought this old cardigan at the op-shop for $2!

It looked a bit shabby and needed some TLC.
After a soak and a good wash, the cardigan soon became this.

Total weight in yarn = 594 grams.
Now I just need to find a pattern!
 This tutorial shows you how to unravel a jumper.

A Thrifty Find

of the fate-ful kind....

I have been thinking and pondering the idea of making one of these for a couple of weeks now.

The thought of cutting and ironing a whole lot of material was putting me off a little.

I popped into the local opp-shop last week for a quick look, and my-oh-my, 

I had to muffle my squeal of delight when I saw this

all ready, all cut, all joined into long lengths!
I truly trust the Universe.

They are of the jersey/knit type fabric and are quite narrow, which I think may be a good thing being that this will be my first attempt at crocheting a rag rug.

I'm telling myself to be patient - I have a small pile of unfinished projects to complete before I start this one.

Recycle a Shirt

My local op-shop sell men's business shirts for $2! Bargain! 

One day they had a 50% off sale! Big Bargain!

I now have a 'few' men's business shirts in my material stash.

I have made Evie a dress from a shirt, which you can see in this post

Last Sunday night, I used these 2 op-shopped items

plus a piece of lace crochet (also from the op-shop),

and turned them into this;

and the back looks like this;

The pocket is a great place to put the remote!

Not bad for less than $4!

Summer Sewing

This post has been sitting as a draft in my list of posts for several weeks and now that summer is over I thought I had best post it!!

Strangely, this summer season has not been a warm one here in our part of the world. 

Disappointing for more than just wanting to enjoy warm sunny days at the
beach or beside our pool.

I had a sewing frenzy one week when the weather was *crappy* and turned out
some summer clothes for the girls.
They have not had a lot of wear but some can be layered with long sleeve t-shirts, leggings or
stockings for the autumn weather.
I was hoping to snap the girls modelling these clothes, but it has been rather difficult to organize. 

So, here we are:

Almost matching dresses - the girls wore these to my big four-o and looked gorgeous!

Matching shorts - at Abbey's request. I think she likes the idea of matching clothes
since wearing the above dresses!

A little 'gypsy' top for Evie.

A 'twirly' skirt for Evie.

A pair of 3/4 pants for Abbey.

Simple summer dresses.

And a Shirt Dress for Evie. 

I found a men's shirt at the op-shop and re-made it into this dress. 

I followed this tutorial!

Most of the clothes were made from patterns from these books;

Purchased on Etsy

Summer Blanket

This is My "Summer Blanket".

It was made from thrifted bed sheets and material that I found at my local OP-shop.

This is what I did:

Sew 6 different sized pieces of material into one long piece. With right sides facing,  fold it in half and stitch all the way around - leaving a small space (approx 20cm/8in) to allow you to pull the material right sides out.  Pull the blanket right side out, and stitch up the small gap either on the machine or by hand.

Easy, no fuss, straight sewing. 

And Whallah!!! You now have a double sided Summer Blanket!!

 Perfect for the front or backyard, beach, park, or whatever takes your fancy!!

Meet My New Friend....

I have a new friend!!

I have known my friend for only a short time.

I already love my new friend.

My new friend saves me time and money, and is very very helpful.

Would you like to meet my new friend? .....

Yes, I know - I'm introducing you to a bread maker......*sigh* ....

Sorry, I am very excited about my 'new to me' bread maker.

I purchased it on e-bay for a mere $30.

(do you love an auction when you are the only bidder???)

We eat minimal wheat foods here and the spelt bread that I used to buy cost nearly $5 a loaf.

I started making my own spelt bread at home - knead, prove, punch down, prove, etc.
The spelt flour ranges from around $7-$10 a kilo from the health food shop - which is still cheaper than buying a loaf as I get 2-4 loaves from each kilo when mixed with another flour.

The whole family loves our homemade bread and I think the bread maker was a thrifty investment!

This one is for me!

I am going to make myself one of Leonie's Wrap Vests
Actually, I think I might make 2, one knitted and one crocheted just like this one.
I found a jumper at the op-shop that I am going to recycle for my knitted version.

It can be mundane work un-doing a knitted jumper, sometimes frustrating but it is also exciting to think that I am going to have all of this wool for a measly $4!!
I have undone half of the jumper and I already have about 4-5 balls of wool. I reckon that is fantastical, not to mention slightly thrifty !!

This is how my wrap vest looks so far - knitted:

Now that I am about half way into this knitted version, my busy brain is starting to move into crochet mode... oh but what colour could I use??? Best I go and do some op-shopping!!!

So Very Grateful

We had a visit from my dearest friend and her daughter yesterday! It was lovely to sit and chat over a cuppa as the girls all played happily together. 

We were given a huge bag of little girl clothes and shoes that have been outgrown! Miss Evie was delighted to have some new shoes to try on!!

 My dear friend does this every couple of months. 

I am so grateful to receive these clothes & shoes for Miss Evie! I had nothing of Miss Abbey's outgrown clothes stashed away as I had passed everything onto another friend believing that there would be no more children for me! I have only had to buy some bare minimals for Miss Evie and I will op-shop before buying new.

Speaking of op-shops..... have a look at what I found.....

I became very excited when I discovered this lovely wooden shape posting toy!! I had to search through several baskets to find all 6 shapes, it must have been my lucky day as they were all there!!!

Miss Evie seems to enjoy the repetitiveness of this game and this morning we started another game with the shapes!

There are so many opportunities for a young child to learn through this activity. 

Also from the op-shop; some material books.

and these too;

I have dyed two of the doilies, the rest will also be dyed other colours. They will be used for sewing onto some future projects. 

For dinner tonight, the Big Ones are having some delicious Chick Pea Curry, 

 you can find the recipe here. This was so easy to make, I had everything in the pantry, and it is delicious!! 

I am not sure yet what the Little Ones will be eating for dinner.

craftyness + thriftyness

This week has been about making some Mother's Day presents for my Mum;

a simple pin cushion and a lightweight scarf

I have also made a present for a friends' daughter

I found the tutorial for this doll here at One Red Robin.

I made these leggings for Miss Evie from a jumper.

I am going to alter these two ladies t-shirts & turn them into dresses for Miss Abbey.

I found these two patterns at the op-shop yesterday and am planning to knit the girls and myself a top each! Pretty nice bargain!

Just love the '80's hair-do's!!


I came across this blog while browsing the Ravelry site, 

I cannot read or speak French but I become mesmerised while looking through her blog and photos. It must be the idea of everything being French, it truly fascinates me.

I am going to have a go at making this, I have translated the pattern into English using Google, and I will search for some wool or cotton so I can get it started!!

This week...

This week has involved a fair amount of op-shopping; which is one of my favourite things to do. I have some wonderful finds, in this photo are from top to bottom - a small cane basket which I am using as a storage space amid my sewing area; a puzzle for a friends' daughter {a birthday present- we made a deal - only 2nd hand gifts this year}; a baby blanket which I think I will turn into a bath mat; an apron that has my favourite colours {the photo does not do any justice}; a ball of real wool; a small vase - another birthday gift; 2 small jars for tealight candles; a knitted top for myself - which will probably be dyed another colour; 2 pairs of shoes for Miss Evie - a bargain at $1 each; and underneath is a beautiful talble cloth - I am thinking about turning it into a curtain for the kitchen. 

I have also picked up some large storage jars for the pantry, some more wool, and some material.

Meanwhile.... I have been a nut knitting away and have produced 2 face washers {photo soon}; and 1 & 1/2 granny squares for the blanket that is in production.

Housework has been kept to the minimal this week with all of the knitting, op-shopping, and some gardening in the vege patch - which is looking a little neglected! On my "TO-DO List" this week is to plant some seeds, according to the Moon Calendar Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are best times to sow root vegetables. I have also cooked up another few jars of chilli jam...

Miss Evie reminded me this afternoon that I must get stuck into some ironing....

Miss Evie managed to almost empty the ironing basket and climb in, then she was stuck!! The poor child was almost swallowed up by the large pile of clothes that are waiting to be treated with some hot loving!!!

I must I must I must......get some ironing done!!!!!

I'm off to do some sewing, another favourite thing to do!!

I made this...

I am rearranging our small & cosy living area to cater for the addition of  Miss Evie's wooden table and chairs {which I purchased off e-bay for a reasonable $20}, as I have decided that the best place for the table and chairs are on a carpeted area I thought it would be wise to have a 'spillage mat' placed under the table to protect the carpet, hence this weeks sewing project.

Miss Evie tries out her new splillage mat.

The finished piece.

I made this simply and cheaply, the apricot patterned material was given to me from a relative and has been in my fabric stash for quite some time - just waiting for the right project. The back of the mat is actually an unused table cloth that has been collecting dust in my cupboard.  The last edge that was sewn together has the scalloped edge of the table cloth on the outer to prevent freying....

Let's see how it holds up!

Ooops, I forgot,

One of my favourite things to do is to go op-shopping! The idea of finding something arouses the treasure hunter in me, on Wednesday I spent 1 hour sifting through one of our local op-shops and found these items all for $6.60!!! Talk about thriftiness!!! And I love it!!

A gardening book, a simple vase, a vintage serviette/placemat, a functional and practical knife, a book for Miss Evie, a pair of knitting needles, and two new tops for myself! 

I wonder what next week will bring?