Wink Designs

A tag and some swatches

There's precious little crafting going on here (which is to be expected with the bub) but I have been tagged by the lovely Natalie (who has the sweetest blog and most gorgeous children!).  So, here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Living in Sydney and working for a small art exhibitions company that acted as a negotiator for the state art galleries around Australia.  We organised tours to Australia of grand masters like Matisse, Picasso and Monet (to name a few!).

5 snacks you enjoy (in an ideal fat-free world)

Peanut butter on toast (must be crunchy); Nutella on toast (there's a theme emerging here); Barbequed Haloumi cheese (a new addiction); Tarte Tatin (in homage to my French in-laws) and Lasagne with loads of bechamel sauce (in homage to my Italian ancestry).

5 snacks you enjoy (in the real world)

See above (I've never been much of a dieter).

5 things you'd do if you were a billionaire

Establish a grand museum of fabric with the vastest collection in the world; travel extensively and luxuriously; give away loads of money to the underpriveleged to help with education, infrastructure, businesses etc; buy some fabulous jewels; buy up a couple of Italian villas and French chateaux.

5 jobs you've had

Lingerie sales (nothing kinky, just David Jones); lawyer (hated it!); cinema usherette (whilst living in London); arts administrator (see 1st question) and marketing manager (for most of my latter career).

3 habits you have

Obsessive tidier and I like to organise things in colours; fabric shopaholic. I deny all other habits!

5 places you've lived

Sydney (for most of my life); Florence (for a few months whilst doing a language course) and London (for a couple of years.  That's it!

5 things you have to do today

Feed baby x 5! (Everything else besides this post is going by the board......)

5 people you want to know more about

The guy who married the annoying girl on that AAMI ad - what was he thinking?  Colin Firth (what lurks behind the mysterious facade?).  Mothers who run businesses and have small children - how do they begin to get it all done? Blog readers who don't comment (I wonder who they all are??!!)

I am tagging Meika who has a lovely blog that I've recently discovered.  Also, so that this post isn't entirely photo-free, I'm sharing some "if money were no object" fabric swatches.  Which fabrics would you buy if the cost was not a consideration?

Mine are Liberty, Marimekko and (my favourite) Sandberg Saga.

 

Six, Seven, Eight

Here is our new little Miss, born one and a half week's ago on 06.07.08.  (There must be something in those numbers as my hospital room was also no. 678). 

We had a middle of the night trip to the hospital (Cee Cee was so excited to be woken and dropped off at her Grandma's house at 2am) and the baby arrived at 5pm that evening (who said it was quicker the 2nd time around??!!).

We're now nesting at home and, after a 4 year gap, I'm now re-living and re-learning the life of a new mum.  Having to slow down, accept that not much gets done in a day, washing endlessly etc. etc.  But she's such a joy and I can stare at her expressive hands and rosebud lips for ages.  All worth it!

The colour purple

I've been wanting to make a bag with a band/yoke and pleats and was thinking of either drafting a pattern myself (in a moment of craziness) or buying an Amy Butler pattern (she has a couple on that theme).

Then I spotted this Kwik Sew pattern (3526) in the discount bin at Spotlight.  A bit of a steal at $5 and worth a try I thought.

I'm really happy with the way the three fabrics from different designers came together.  The main body of the bag is a gorgeous purple-pink Junko Onishi (now sadly discontinued, I think). (Reprodepot in the US and Duckcloth here in Australia stock other Onishi prints.)  The spotted band and an inside pocket are Echino and the handles and lining are a lovely olive/sage linen from Cloth Fabric.  The fabrics are all medium weight and apart from some light interfacing fused to the back of each band piece it didn't need any other reinforcement.

For reasons which I'm sure I don't have to explain to you I left out the bow on the bag front (see pattern cover below).  I don't think I'll be making the headscarf either as a motoring holiday in the French Riviera isn't really on the cards at the moment......!!  I also adjusted the handles to my own preferred length and width and brought the lining up a bit to peep out before stitching around the top of the bag.

The bag matches my purple maternity top beautifully and is a perfect size to stash some light reading in for the hospital! (A yarn shop in Manhattan, now there's a career dream!)

Pink + brown

 What to do when seriously time-challenged but still wanting to give a handmade gift?  The appliqued tee of course!  Here's an in-progress shot with some pink and brown fabrics chosen to match the little Kokeshi-style doll. 

While I can't claim to have made the doll there are lots of crafty types who have been hard at work doing just that (see here).

 

Following on from my recent "fruit fiesta" I've been having fun making some other little bits and pieces with my lovely soft collection of wool felt.  Here's a little pouch with hearts.

And finally, do you, like me, love to read Cathy of Pink Chalk Studio's blog?  She's such an accomplished crafter, really generous with her advice and tips and never fails to take fabulous photos.  She has a new fabric and patterns shop "Pink by Post".  I love this pink and brown "Bandana Stack Pack" from Alexander Henry - just listed.  (Tried to insert image in the post but the Typepad photo ghouls are at work again and couldn't get a clear reproduction......)

Yours in pink + brown,

Marina xox.

 

Real patchwork vs. "Pumpkin Patch" work

Do you often get questioned by non-crafty types as to why you bother to take the time to make things?  One of my all-time "favourites" is a remark about a dress I'd made for my daughter along the lines of: "Oh that's lovely but wouldn't it be easier just to pick something up at Pumpkin Patch?"  Easier?  Yes but (with no disrespect to Pumpkin Patch - I do shop there occasionally) not quite as satisfying......!

On to some fabulous patchwork by a very crafty girl, this little card came in a set of hand-stamped and stitched cards and a notebook given to me by Claudine at our Sydney bloggers dinner.  It's so cute and I can't stop looking at it (I love patchwork houses!) so I thought I'd share it with you.  Thankyou Claudine!

Giving out the fruit!

This image is an etsy favourite (Apple and Pear Print by littlebighead) and is perfect to accompany the announcement of the winners of the Fruity Felt & Fabric giveaway.

They are: Cathy (who loves apples!) and Claudia (who loves pears!).  I swear that Cathy's win wasn't rigged but if you check out her fabulous blog banner you'd be forgiven for thinking it was.  My own little Cee Cee was obviously attracted to the 2 "Cs" when she helped me make the draw......  Could you both email me your details and the packs will be on their way to you?

 

P.S. I've noticed that some of my images (like this one above) are being pixelated/distorted when I upload them to Typepad.  This has been happening since the new Typepad posting changes.  Is anyone else having the same problems?

P.P.S.  The same images are not distorted when I look at them in my Bloglines browser or when they're uploaded to flickr, so it does seem to be a Typepad issue......

Definition of a craft obsession

"craft obsession" (defn.):

When you have a completely, utterly, overflowingly adequate supply of pins in your sewing kit and yet you still buy more because they are very cute and very pastel coloured and they have little button-shaped heads and (well, you know......)

Here are some bibs in progress being made with the aid of aforementioned pins (pattern based on this one from Nested):

By the way, thanks to all who've commented on the "Fruity Felt and Fabric" giveaway in my last post.  Still a couple of days left - I'll draw after "close of business" on Friday.  Overseas and new-commenters/ blog visitors welcome!!

The little things...... (and a giveaway)

With the arrival of the stork fast approaching my attention span and stamina have been dramatically on the decline. Small, quick, easy projects are the name of the game (as you've probably gathered from recent posts).  I've also had it in my mind to focus on putting some "little things" in my shop:- things which will be easier to make, re-make and re-stock when the babe comes along. 

My first foray into this territory is some fruity felt and fabric applique packs which I'm in the process of putting together and and will soon list.  I've used a mixture of wool felt, reinforced fabric scraps and covered buttons to create some little apples and pears (complete with their own leaves). 

These would look very cute appliqued or fabric-glued to aprons, scarves, tote bags, pincushions, clothing pockets or even sewn to cardstock to make some spiffy greeting cards.

I'm going to give these ones away in 2 random draws.  Just leave a comment by next Friday which starts with the words "I Love Pears" or "I Love Apples" (so I know which pack you'd prefer).  I'm happy to mail anywhere in Oz or overseas.

On the subject of "little things", have you had a chance to check out Small Magazine yet?  What an amazing array of products, features and photography.  A little to bothersome to read online but it's so worth the effort.

Just for the birds

If you haven't already, you should read Pip's lovely post on blogging.  It inspired me to try something new and different.  I've never made a flickr mosaic before but I really enjoy it when other bloggers share their favourite images like this, so I've decided to have a go (with a conservative 2 x 2!).  Today it's birds......

1. One Bird, 2. Friendly Birds, 3. collection2, 4. Birdcage Painting - SOLD

Craft 101

I couldn't agree more with Jessica's post about all the fabulous tutorials that are currently flooding blog-land, making it a veritable "Craft 101" of ideas and inspiration.

(By the way, thank you Craft Magazine for featuring my Sew Simple Needle Case tutorial!.)

Where to start?  Well here are a few that have caught the eye of Wink Designs:

1. Fabric envelopes by Nous Nous.  Super quick, super easy and very satisfying.  To get the right result you need a bit of stiff fusible interfacing.  Yes, the very same kind that bubbles and warps and makes you swear whilst you attempt to apply it to the back of a handbag piece.  Except that for this kind of smaller project it didn't bubble at all.  Here's one I made to go with a little boy's birthday present.  A perfect chum for one of my fabric and paper cards.  I modified the design slightly to make a curved closure and cut out a duplicate envelope piece which I sewed to the reverse to make a colourful lining.
2. Amy Butler business card holder.  Here's a super cute example made by Soo.
3. Notebook Magazine's covered coathangers.  Very chic and, as the article points out, not at all grandmotherly.  I've gone so far as buying some craft hangers and foam from Spotlight but have no results to show as yet......
4. Knitting a Lot's "Little Sisters Dress" (wish I could knit......).
5. Lilac Moon's Rubber Stamped Tea Containers (aren't these just gorgeous?).

Incidentally, I'm also loving the Quick Crafts for Sanity group on flickr.  Such a great name and one which makes me wonder what a group at the opposite end of the spectrum would be called?  "Long and Tedious Insanity-Promoting Crafts" perhaps?!

Anyway, quick crafts is what we're all about here at the moment. (Note use of Royal "We"!)  I'd love to hear of any other tutorials which you think are especially fabulous.....