Frazzled

Or how Tuesday Treasures turned into Tantrum Tuesday .

I had plans girls, my word I did !

Prepare the first post of Tuesday Treasures on Monday .

No internet .

Scratch that plan , just get the kids off to school in the morning and then prepare post .

One spewy kid at home .

One husband who works outside decided paint wouldn't dry in -3 degrees , wimp !

Do post , add linky .

Internet dropping out every time I almost got the linky .

Finally get linky , cannot get it to go under post .

Finally get post done while taking four phonecalls and dealing with spewy kid .

Go and get tyres for my car for rego (in the middle of doing a post)

Sorry no tyres today lady .

Found that you needed a backpack and a cut lunch

to get to the bottom of the post to leave a comment .

Left spewy kid with wimpy husband and escaped to

The Craftroom.

Played around with the dreaded yellow fabric .

The yellow fabric is what I use when I am trying out a new softie.

Mysterious , unrecognisable lumps have often made their way into my home

where I squint at the lumps and interrogate everyone asking what they think of it .

 It gets so bad family members run when they see

the dreaded yellow fabric approaching .

The yellow fabric would just not play nicely

even after I said secret , special words to it !

Really should have just left the yellow fabric alone .

It was just one of those days .

Let's just hope today is free of spew , wimps and yellow lumps !

Tuesdays Treasures

Hello I'm finally here for the first Tuesday's Treasures !

My first treasure is my most important one as this little girl was my very first doll .

I was given this doll when I was three and have never been too far from her since .

As I came from a large family where money was scarce receiving a doll was a huge thing in those days .

Long story that I will try and cut short but when I was born my parents named me Sarah Jane .

My father came across a not very nice lady a few days later named Sarah Jane and rushed back to my mother in the hospital and said they couldn't name me that and changed it to Clare .

I was often called Sarah when I was little so I immediately named my doll Clare Sarah .

My creativity obviously wasn't quite developed yet at age 3 !

Can't wait to see your treasures !

Add your name to the link below and visit some of the other Treasure blogs !

Today is Monday but tomorrow is

What the heck is Treasure Tuesday I hear you say ,

(I can't really hear you that would be really creepy .)

Treasure Tuesday is a new game starting tomorrow which so happens to be Tuesday !

It is a way to showcase your sentimental treasures ,

priceless to you but of no value to anyone else .

No it is not your kids or your husband

but those little things that are so precious to you alone .

It could be your family bible or a favourite childhood book.

A special vase given to you by your Nan or

a wooden toy made by your dad .

Your first quilt or a cherised tea set .

Anything that is a treasure to you .

It will be played along the same way as My Creative Space .

The only difference there may be is that Kirsty is an excellent hostess

of My Creative Space and I can't promise I will be as efficient as her .

I mentioned this game last week and some were a little concerned about choosing one item

so I think we'll just keep playing week by week and see how it goes .

I will be adding a linky thing here tomorrow to kick off

Treasure Tuesday and I'd love someone else to join in

otherwise I'm going to look like a real dag playing by myself !

So if you want to play dust off your memories and come along tomorrow .

I'm looking forward to seeing your treasures .

I just love that fabric ! Giveaway

Susie from I just love that fabric is now stocking my patterns in her online store .

Susie has the most beautiful fabrics , I know , check my Mastercard statement !

In the store now is a range of fabrics from Lakehouse called Dolly Dresses .

Beautiful fabric just perfect for making Little Party Frocks .

Susie is having a giveaway and you can win the Little Party Frock pattern 

and a fat quarter of Dolly Dresses fabric to make it in .

Wonder if I could enter anonymously just for the gorgeous fabric !

and then I did some hooking

I've been doing quite a bit of crochet lately and have become very fond of my hook with the thicker handle .

I can crochet for much longer and my hand doesn't cramp at all .

I have been on the lookout for a spare one but they aren't easy  to find and are a bit pricey .

I thought I'd have a go at making my own thick handles and I must say I am very happy with how they work,

in fact because they are softer I think they are better than the bought ones .

All I did was wrap masking tape around the bare metal hooks and slipped on pencil grips over the top .

The pencil grips had to be wriggled on as I wanted the masking tape thick enough to hold the grips firmly .

This way I can now have extra hooks as I had plenty of old ones with no handles .

I guess you could call me one happy hooker !

Winners and wondering .

Firstly the winners from my 200 post giveaway .
 1st prize of 3 different patterns from my shop is Jenny from Ohjoh .
 2nd prize of 2 different patterns is Little Eve and
3rd prize of one pattern is Jossie from Cybeles Patch .
If you ladies would please email me with your pattern choices I will send them off to you .
Thanks everyone for visiting and entering the giveaway and if you are dissapointed you didn't win ask your favourite craft shop to stock my patterns , hint , hint !

Now for the wondering ..... would you like to play a game ?
What is your most treasured thing ?
 Besides your husband , children and sewing machine what is most important to you ?
Maybe it is a dried flower from your wedding bouquet or your childs first drawing .
It could be your Nanas doilies or your Mums handed down dinner set ,
your first quilt or a favourite book .
No I don't want to rob your houses I'm just curious what others find priceless .

If you are interested I will put a linky thingy here on
 Tuesday the 1st July and we can call it
 Treasure Tuesday or something daggy like that .
I'd be so happy if someone wants to play .
It will only be for that week because really how many priceless things do we have !
Leave a comment on this post if you think it may be worthwhile , if I don't hear from you I'll figure it's a really stupid idea and I'll just get back in my box .


Are you waiting to find out about the photo of the stapler ? Why is it there?
Just 'cause it's pink !

200 times I've gone blah , blah ,blah !

Have you noticed that of my now 200 posts the majority of them have the label of "not much ",
 I think that says a little about me !
I don't want to turn this into a mushy post but I would like to say a big thankyou to all who visit and take the time to comment , I do appreciate it .
I also want to thank the girls who send me naughty emails as they seem to come at times when I really need a big laugh .
 A huge thankyou to the girls I have become phone friends with as well ,
it feels we have been friends forever .
There you go , more blah , blah , blah !
 Let's get on with the giveaway .
200 posts is a biggie (to me anyway) so there will be 3 prizes .
1st entry drawn will be any 3 of my patterns .
2nd entry drawn will be 2 of my patterns ,
3rd entry drawn will be 1 of my patterns .
Now if you unsure of my designs and you would like to see them in more detail hop over to my shop .
Don't jostle in there ladies it is only a small shop , I'll wait for you here .
I'll just have a cuppa out of my new teapot
while admiring my new canisters both bought at Vinnies this week .

I hope you had a good look and still would like to enter the giveaway .

Just leave a comment please .

I hope to be back early next week with the winners and lots more blah , blah , blah !

Tiptoe through the tulips

My daughter loves tulips and the colour purple and has been asking me to grow them for some time .
To keep her quiet for a bit I made her some with fabric instead .
No not quite the same as the real thing but still very pretty anyway and almost as pretty as her !

PS This is my 199th post !

I would have called you but.....

      I lost your card !

So this never happens again I made a card holder to hang on the wall near the phone

and an extra as a gift to stash away for The Early Bird Christmas Crafters .

Look out if you have ever given me your business card as I might be calling you soon !

It won't really be that soon as the card holders are filled with just my cards....

 maybe I don't have anyone else to call ! 

Just a tip .

This iron cleaner really does work !

But maybe I should have used it before I started ironing my new fabric !

Many hands make light work .

Some of you may remember my stupidity generosity in offering to make a few headbands for a friends shop , yes I can see you shaking your head and going tsk tsk !
I've made 50 already and now I have 50 to go .
Here is where the favour comes in , I'd like you to make a couple too !
They are very quick and easy in fact after the first 50 you'll really whizz through them .
When you've made a few keep them aside for little Christmas presents Judith will be very pleased with you and so will Kris and Peg as you can count them as an OPAM finish .
Ready to help ? Here goes -
You will need 2 different fabrics as these are reversable headbands ,iron on interfacing, about 15cm of 1cm wide elastic(this length fits mine and my daughters heads you may like to check and shorten if making for a smaller person) and some cardboard for making the templates and of course your usual sewing supplies .
Draw up your templates using the measurements below . I like the top of the headbands wide to really show the fabric , you may like to make yours narrower .
Oh look I've left you a jelly baby in case you're hungry .

Double your fabric and place the wider edge of the band on the fold and cut one piece out.

Repeat with a contrasting piece of fabric .

Press interfacing on the wrong side of one band piece .

Cut 2 fabric strips 5cm wide x 30cm long .

With right sides facing and using a 1/4 " seam stitch top band pieces together .

Repeat with the strip pieces .

Clip curves , I trim the top piece with pinking shears .

Turn both pieces right side out and press .

Turn under about 1cm on the ends of the main band piece .

Topstitch along both long edges .

Thread elastic through and stitch one end to secure .

Pull the elastic through to the other end gathering the tube and stitch the end .

Slip the elasticed tube into the narrow headband ends and stitch securing the tubes .

All done !

I know there are probably better tutorials around explaining how to make these but I've been making so many of these on my own I'd really enjoy the company .

If you are going to make some please leave me a note as I'd love to see them in different fabrics , I'm getting very tired seeing them in these same fabrics .

Because I had to wait for the giggling girls up the back of the class to catch up I managed to get a few extra headbands ready to finish so I'll be off now to do that .

Don't forget to let me know how you get on .

A winner , a glimpse and a favour .

Yes there is a winner for Chris the Crocodile pattern and it is Deb from The Angel and Pukeko .
 Congratulations Deb , would you please email me with your address and I'll give directions to Chris and he can swim over to you .
Thankyou to everyone who entered and stayed for a cuppa .
My 200th post is coming up fairly soon so I'll be having another pattern release and giveaway then.
The pattern has been listed in my blogshop and in my ebay shop .
If you would like to buy my patterns from your local craft store ask them very nicely to stock them .

Now here is the glimpse of the fabric being used in my new designs , any guesses ?

Onto the favour (are you dreading this?) I would like a hand with something but I can't tell you about until tomorrow or maybe Tuesday , will you come back ?

I hope so it will be fun .

It's a carnival of ...

CROCODILES!

Yes I know there is no such thing as a carnival of crocodiles but if I used the correct term for a group of crocodiles which is a congregation or a float of crocodiles would you still have come for a look !

Anyway here I am with my new pattern called

Chris the Crocodile .

This one has been a loooong time in the works as I started on him before Christmas and made lots of crocodiles , I think maybe that was when it turned into a carnival or maybe a circus !

I worked so hard on this design (and cried and swore ) and then finally sent it off to the best pattern testers around .

It was thoroughly tested and the pattern was tweaked and then .........ta da !

The winning crocodile was found !

If you would like to see Jeanettes or Fionas or Annettes or Rachels version pop over to their blogs and ask them nicely I'm sure they'd love to show you .  

Thankyou to these girls you are stars !

Would you like to make your own Chris the Crocodile?

No pattern release is complete without a giveaway

so here are all the rules and conditions ...

only joking no rules on this blog .

But if you would like to blog about it I'll count you twice .

Just leave a comment and I will draw a winner on the weekend .

Seeya in a while crocodile .

Thankyou for your interest , this giveaway is now closed .