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quilt inspiration via pinterest

Because it is the middle of winter (and also because I am easily sucked in by the internet), I have been spending lots of time lately in the evenings cozied up on the couch, clicking away over at Pinterest. Talk about addictive! There is a ridiculous amount of inspiration over there. I love seeing what everyone else is pinning. I also love how you can look at a board of your own pins to get a clearer idea of what currently floats your boat, so to speak. I'm quilt obsessed at the moment - all of the above are from my quilts pinboard.

From the top: quilt block tutorial by mamakamills; dsquilts; tiles, Lubna Chowdhary source unknown (please, I would love to know the source of this if anyone knows Thanks amyash!); wood blocks by Serena Mitnik-Miller via Poppytalk;  Spotted Stone Studio; Robin Ferrier.

trimmings

Did you know that Umbrella Prints are holding another of their Trimmings competitions? Make something from one of their trimmings packs (available from their big cartel shop) and up for grabs are loads of goodies from their range. Oh, how I love their work. Just about every room in our house where soft furnishings are appropriate has a cushion using their fabric.

I'm going to have a crack, and couldn't go past this collection of striking warm trimmings. I felt like a kid playing with lollies taking them out of the pack and moving them around the desk to take this photo. More information about the competition can be found here and here.

PS: Thanks so much for your lovely comments on my last post. It's good to be back.

bowerbirding

While everyone in Melbourne was having fun at Finders Keepers, we in Adelaide had our own excellent makers market to visit last weekend. I couldn't attend Bowerbird as a stallholder this time around, but I was *more* than happy to visit as a punter.  Among the goodies I picked up was (above) some fabric from Ink & Spindle, which was immediately fashioned into cushions (and already well rumpled by use, you can see). Their colours are just perfect. Perfect!

And this brooch by the lovely Naomi Murrell.

Also (not photographed because the items were tucked away behind a squeaky door while the toddler was sleeping this afternoon), a red fox brooch by ceramicist  Sharon Muir (click to see her gorgeous bird ceramics if you've not come across her work before), plus some lovely Christmas cards from Kyri at Messagemark (thankyou!) and a t-shirt for Henry from Hamb.

Add that to great food, a fantastic venue and all-round good vibes. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

some favourites

1. Untitled  2. Untitled  3. Chinese style ECO bag  4. Crosses quilt  5. leaf  6. ...

Sorry about my extended blog absence. I have been caring for sick kids and sharing in the bugs they bring home to us. A lot of my internet time lately (aside from sniffing out the election lowdown) has been restricted to taking in some of the beauty & inspiration over at Flickr - hence the ubiquitous but nice 'favourites mosaic' above. 

Some other favourite things:
- the SALA show over at Nest last week. This mobile of the kid's artwork just GLOWED. Thanks Carly & Amy!
- Christie knit her daughter's Poppy doll a fantastic cardigan, which has me coveting doll's clothes (in, you know, adult person size).
- Rachael was kind enough to include me in an article about Australian toy makers, along with the talented Kate and Jodie.

gone to the dogs

Percy, Cecil and Douglas, three dogs finished today. Their neck-wear is becoming increasingly flamboyant, I can't help myself.

Cecil has already found a new home, but Percy and Douglas can be found over here right now.

Seen elsewhere: this small but perfectly formed sewing shed. Our house is very tight on space, so moving me and all my work paraphernalia out into the back yard might be the answer yet. Not sure how practical it would be (especially during long hot summers), but seeing this had me searching ebay for timber sheds within seconds. Cute!

quilt it

Joe Kievitt via Dear Ada

MWM Graphics via The Seventy Tree

Brian Wildsmith via Roddy & Ginger

These are a few of the images currently filed away in an inspiration folder on my desktop. They come from the minds of some very talented illustrators, but wouldn't something along these lines make a great quilt? I especially love the muted colour palette in the first and third pictures. Plus, triangles. Can't get enough of those triangles.

kid's bedrooms

I am thinking about kid's bedrooms again. Changes are afoot in our little house - Henry will be in a big bed soon, and I want to squish in a desk for Audrey. Our kids share a room, so whatever we do in there it has to be gender neutral, too. These photos are some recent and not so recent favorites, gleaned from the archives of my tumblr blog. The beds are proving the biggest stumbling block. I'm a big fan of those wonderful wooden scandinavian kid's beds - but there's nothing of the likes of them to be found in little old Adelaide. So notwithstanding a secondhand-store miracle, I suspect we'll be falling back on Ikea again - maybe these, I'll probably paint them.

In the meantime, the internet has so much goodness. Sometimes it's easier to get happily lost in the search for inspiration than actually making decisions (not to mention getting in there and cleaning it up in the first place, ahem...)

From top: 1richtungsblog, inspirational spaces, bloesem kids, far out brussel sprout, green is the new black, design is mine, fine little day, real living.

hot or not

Hello! Thanks for your nice words. I'm out of hospital and home taking it easy. I had to stay a little longer than I'd hoped because I had a wacky reaction to one of the drugs. On the up side, I am now minus a gallbladder and minus a bit of extra weight as well (woo!) How about a game of Claire's Hot or Not?

hot

1. Seasonally themed gumdrop-pops from Martha. Audrey and I will so be making these this year. 

2. Dawn's fantastic clouds. I want them all.

3. A heatwave in November. November! Very hot, but not necessarily in a good way (see 'not').

4. Very pretty flower garlands. I've been trying to come up with some toddler-friendly Christmas decorations this year. Wouldn't strings of these look great around a christmas tree?

4. A nice husband who has taken the week off work to look after the kids while I recover from the chop. Lovely.

not

1. A heatwave in November. We've had days of temperatures around the 40s, and today parts of the state have the dubious honor of a first ever 'catastrophic' fire warning. This kind of heat at this time of year is not only foul but makes me fearful of the summer ahead.

2. Weirdy medications. Though I am grateful for their pain-reducing effects, it turns out I am not so good at tolerating anything stronger than a panadol. What a wuss!

PS - the Marmalade cat is one I made last week. She's winging her way to a little girl right now.

friday inspiration (on a saturday)

Folded paper. This photo (from sem on Flickr) could tip me over the edge into paper crafting, or at least a spot of paper crane making. A string of these hanging in a corner would be very nice indeed. I also love these paper crane mobiles by Red Berry. Happy weekend!

friday inspirations

The River Cottage Family Cookbook is my favorite at the moment. I love their chatty, informal style & that it is as good a book to read as it is to cook from. Every time I go back to it just gets better and better. I baked the banana bread this week & it's a cracker of a recipe.

I have been sorting through some bookmarks and rediscovered the beautiful quilted blankets made by Rie Elise Larsen. That long, chunky hand (?) quilting looks so good. Very inspiring. 

Love the different patterns & textures of these beautiful tea cups from Samantha Robinson.

I think I might try to make this a regular Friday thing here as I'm having a hard time getting motivated to blog at the moment. I would love to hear your Friday inspirations if you feel like blogging about them - please leave a comment & let me know if you do!

Oh! And a warm welcome if you're here for the first time via Soulemama. If you are interested, more of the toys I make can be checked out here and here.