packing for a bbq

so, i didn't finish my owls from thursday yet, but that's ok. see i've packed them all up to take with me today. i'm going to a bbq, yep a footy grand final bbq...

caveat: for those who are not from melbourne/victoria/australia, footy (aussie rules or afl as it is also known) is not just a sport, but its more of a religion 'round these parts (personally i prefer the kind of religion that's about following jesus, rather than following the antics of forty-odd blokes running around chasing after a ball, but that's just me).  so if you are a footy fan, sorry that i have probably offended you already, and you should probably turn away now, you'll be somewhat horrified at what i have to say next: end caveat.

living in the state of victoria for awhile now and in melbourne for a number of years, i am used to the grand final and the inevitable grand final bbqs that go with it. and i do enjoy them. the grand final is something worth celebrating. see to me, the grand final spells the end of the footy season and the beginning of a few months respite before it all starts up again early next year.

but grand final bbqs do require packing. see, as everyone around me watches intently and lives and dies with each goal scored, i am planning on quietly keeping my eyes on my hands as i hand sew the faces on the owls, and if i have time (the matches seriously take more than two hours) i'm also planning on being able to do some more work on my new crochet project. i like being 'round people. i like bbqs and i like making stuff and well, if there happens to be footy going on in the background, i can cope with that...

if you are a footy fan, sorry if i have just horrified you. just know that i am sure to horrify everyone at the grand final bbq today too. but like i said, i do think that the grand final is something worth celebrating!

MY creative space...

ok, so i know our lovely creative space hostie is on holidays right now, but i thought i'd still creative space it up tonight. see, i'm making owls:

its the same pattern that i used for the finished owl in the corner. but i am experimenting with their faces. i'm pretty pleased with them so far, and i am hoping that they will all look different enough for terrible comfort's show (see the call out for owls - there is still time to join in, just). and if you are keen eyed enough, you will be able to recognise the gray felt. yep!  its my felted jumper! perfect for these owls.

i might be creative spacing it pretty much on my own this week, but at least i've got a few owls to keep me company... 

ahh, op-shopping

it felt like i hadn't done a good lot of op-shopping for a while, so it has been great over the last month or so to catch up on some of my favourite op-shops and even check out a few new ones. 

i've gotten some great things! like these fabulous shoes:

and some more great linen (table cloths and serviettes). 

and best of all, a spare crochet hook...

(one of the downsides to teaching all my friends to crochet is that i inevitably lend them a crochet hook to practice with. the end result being that i only have one hook left!)

and on a side note - can anyone explain to me why op-shops always have a big bunch of knitting needles, but there is pretty much never a crochet hook to be seen? its a mystery i can't understand... 

i'm late late late late late

it's just one of those days. when it feels like there is too much to do and no time to do it.

what it really comes down to, i think is that idea of expecting too much of myself and my abilities to achieve things in my day off. but there's no time to post a reflection about that today. i'm late!

but i did really want to share a sneak peak of my new crochet project. 

who knew a circle was so hard to make flat! (this is my second attempt).

and check out this fabulous tea towel, an opshopped gift from a friend. it covers so many of the places we went on our holiday. its like the teatowel souvenir we should have bought!

 and if you have time - do check out gina's post on mono-tasking for a more reflective post on the topic of time and expectations and use of time. something i have been thinking about, and intend on doing a bit more of, just not today. today i am way too busy...

my portable saucepan-able creative space...

unusual i know, but this week, my creative space got a bit portable and oddly saucepan-able. see, i help run a sewing group on sunday afternoons. its for women on a local housing estate who otherwise wouldn't have access to sewing machines or overlockers. but on sunday this week, it was very quiet, and so i began to riffle around in the scraps bags to see what i could find.  

see i had been planning to make an owl for terrible comfort's halloween show (see the call out here, and join on in!). and having printed out this pattern at work during the week and then having conveniently left it in my bag, i thought i would get started. so, finding the cut off leg of a pair of tan corduroy pants that had been hemmed by someone and a scrap of beigey coloured fake fur i was off. that was, until some more women showed up and i went back to helping run the group. and that's where the saucepan comes in. see at the end of the group, i had to pack everything up to take the rest of the owl pieces home. for a random assortment of reasons, i had one of my big saucepans with me - the perfect place for all the owl pieces. 

and so this week, i have been finishing the owl off and here it is, all finished: the terrible comfort portable/saucepan-able/fabric scrap owl...

the front panel is a little bit crooked, but not too bad for a first attempt at the pattern, with no instructions. i might even make a few more!

what's going on in your creative space? saucepans?

more about crochet

my lovely friend found my this book at an op-shop and she knew she just had to get it for me...

 before giving it to me, she read me the introduction:

Today, when crochet is enjoying such unprecedented vogue,

it is natural that many woman of all ages wish to become 

accomplished in this fascintatng craft. Crochet has a variety of 

uses and is now as popular in the field of high fashion as it is 

in the adornment of the home...

i am not quite sure where this pattern for crocheted ties sits:

high fashion anyone?

after much book related merriment, i do have to say that in the end the book spoke truth. my friend decided it was time "to become accomplished in this fascinating craft" herself. so i pulled out my spare hook and off we went... slowly slowly, i am turning all of my friends into crochet addicts. does that mean i have become a crochet-dealer of sorts?

my creative space

this week reveals my new project. ta da...

i'm making a quilt! i was going for a brown and orange theme to match the back panel fabric. but instead there is turning out to be a bit more of a mix. see, there were a few fabrics that i really wanted to put in (like the blue ellipsoid one on the top right) and so a blue theme got added in. then finally a little bit of plain yellow, which i think helped to de-crowd things colour-wise.

anyway, cutting it out and then sewing it together has been fun. but i am worried about the next step. i actually have no idea how to quilt things, and any helpful suggestions, or directions to good and helpful beginner quilting blogs/how-tos/sites you know would be gratefully received!

here's hoping your creative space is also filled with retro fabricked, family inspired, make-it-up-as-you-go-along kinda craft...