Crafty Bits and Pieces.

Hi everyone,

Hope you're enjoying these beautiful Spring days (or Autumn days if you're in the northern hemisphere). Aren't they lovely, they always make me feel cheery. It has occurred to me that this blog is in need of a crafty update. While I haven't been making anything substantial, like a quilt, I have been fiddling around with a few bits and pieces. So what have my busy fingers being doing.

I finished my traditional Granny square rug(blanket/afghan). It has been finished for a while now I just forgot to do the big TA DAH so here she is bathing in the Spring sunshine

Just as I was finishing the last couple of squares I discovered a tutorial HERE at "Once Upon a Pink Moon" for a bobbly(pom pom) border. I immediately thought that it had to go on the edge of "Granny". I love bobbly trim and even though I thought it was going to take ages it didn't, once I got the hang of it.


I've been meaning to have a go at tapestry crochet for quite sometime but never got around to it. A couple of weeks ago I came across a tutorial for a simple coin purse, you can find it HERE at "Poppy and Bliss". I decided to give it a go and it wasn't difficult. I love the patterns you can make with tapestry crochet so I will be doing more.

 

I came across a V-stitch crocheted square at Le Monde de Sucrette while I was blog surfing last week.  I decided to have go at working it out for myself even though you can buy the pattern from the blog HERE.  I did work it out but I wasn't happy with the way centre of the square looked so I worked out another way to do it and I'm much happier.

Now everyone knows you can't just make one crocheted square, so I made a few more. These squares are quite addictive, just one more row, just one more colour, oh heck I'll just start another one, now I can't leave a square half done and on it goes.

Now I've put it away in the cupboard so I can't see it, but I'm sure I can hear it calling me. No it's going to be a long term project I have other things I have to do.

 

Yes the other things like projects for the Craft Getaway Weekend. Bookings have been a bit slow and we haven't reached our minimum number yet but I best be prepared. I don't want to give away exactly what we will be doing but I can give you a couple of sneaky peeks. I have been experimenting with a few ideas.

Some have worked, like this.

And this one

Some have not.

I'm hoping to have one session on the weekend that will be experimenting and playing with patchwork so I was testing one of my ideas. I think I know where I went wrong but I'll have to do some more playing. As it turns out when I was doing this trial I came up with a grander plan for this idea so it might not make it to the getaway weekend anyway.

 

At craft group on Fridays I thought we could do a joint project. The idea is for everyone to make some blocks based around a heart theme. When we have enough we will put them all together in a quilt and raffle it. These a few that I have made so far. 

And here are all the hearts so far. They're looking lovely.

Please forgive the photo, for some reason it only wanted to upload sideways and it's blurry. Oh well that's the way things go sometimes.

 

So that's the craft update. Hope you're having a crafty time too or doing something else you really enjoy.

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

 

 

I would love your feedback.

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or

You can follow me on

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Craft Getaway Weekend

Hi Everyone,
I'm very happy and excited to let you know that bookings for the first Craft Getaway Weekend are now open, actually they have been open for a week now but I have been a bit busy this last week (seems to be my life story at the moment). As I mentioned last time it is a collaborative venture with my good friend Marita who owns a B&B, Marita's Place near Corryong in the beautiful Upper Murray region of NE Victoria. The weekend will run from Friday evening the 19th of September to Sunday afternoon the 21st so if you are interested or you have a friend/s who are interested pop over HERE for more information and to book. There is also a fantastic deal going if you book with a friend and numbers are limited to a maximum of 8 so it is best to get in early.
If that particular weekend doesn't suit, or you would like to organise a weekend for a group of friends (minimum 4) leave your name and contact details with Marita and we can organise something for you.

THE CRAFT
I thought I would tell you a bit about the craft part of the weekend but first of all I would like to thank those who took part in the survey, it was very helpful.
The winner of the giveaway was Kylie Harvey and as it happens she is a fellow blogger, Indigo and Quince, with some of the same interests as myself.
As a result of the survey I have decided, for the first Craft Getaway, we will have some fun with patchwork and another mystery craft.

My aim for the weekend is to have fun and keep it fairly flexible with a bit of structure and to cater for the beginner through to the more advanced.
NB. If you are a beginner, and you let me know before hand, I can supply the equipment for you to use on the weekend.

FRIDAY EVENING:

Introductions and show and tell.

SATURDAY:

There will be a patchwork project to make. This will be suitable for beginners but still fun for the more advanced.

Once the first project is completed you can choose between:

Another patchwork/sewing project

or

I will show you some easy time saving piecing techniques and you will have the opportunity explore your own creativity. This would be the ideal opportunity for you to bring along some of your own fabrics or scraps to play with. (If you are a beginner and don't have any fabrics yet they can be supplied for a small extra cost.)

or

You can bring along an unfinished project of your own to work on or get some help with it if you need it.

SUNDAY:

There will be a mystery craft to learn

or

You can continue working on the Saturday projects.

NB. Kits for all projects are supplied (included in the price) and are yours to keep whether you choose to do them on the weekend or not.

The weekend will be full of hints, tips and inspiration along with delicious food & fun so I hope you will join Marita and I for a great time.
If you have any questions about the craft or what you need to bring please use the 'Contact Me' form on the right and I am happy to answer any enquiries. Also, if you would like to organise a weekend more suitable to your needs please let me know about that too. Fingers crossed now for some bookings.



 

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

 

 

I would love your feedback.

You can either comment here or on Facebook 

or

You can follow me on

Facebook or Instagram @oneearlybird

 

What Would You Like To Do on a Craft Getaway Weekend?

Hi Everyone,
I'm a little bit excited, oh well maybe a lot. My friend Marita, who has recently opened a B&B, (Marita's Place) and I are getting together to offer Weekend Craft Getaways in the beautiful Upper Murray region of north east Victoria.
Marita will look after the accommodation, meals and bookings and if you head over to Marita's blog she has most of the details about cost and what is included. The craft program is yet to be finalised, that is my part of the deal. I have lots of ideas but am having trouble deciding exactly what to offer. What would people like to do or learn?
If you have been following this blog for a while you will be aware that I do lots of different crafts and I love them all, so the options are:

PATCHWORK

Very basic, beginner to intermediate, machine or paper piecing, small or large projects.
I specialise in strip piecing where possible and I'm constantly on the look out for new quick easier ways to get excellent results. And I don't necessarily follow 'the rules' of patchwork.

APPLIQUE

My preferred method for applique is using freezer paper but I can do needle turn or buttonhole.

CROCHET

Beginner to intermediate, plain to fancy, small or large projects. Reading patterns (written or charts).

KNITTING

Beginner to intermediate, plain or fancy, small project. Reading patterns.

DOLL MAKING

Beginner cloth dolls and softies.

PAPERCRAFTS

Beginner quilling (paper filigree) and 3D origami.

OTHER CRAFTS

These are a few of the other crafts I could can offer and various basic crafts also. Or a combination of crafts.

 

As you can see there is lots to choose from, so I am hoping you will be able to help me by answering

What would you like to do on a Craft Getaway Weekend?

I have put together a little survey and it would be great if you could take a minute to pop over here  and answer just 7 questions. Feel free to add any ideas or comments (on the survey or here), the more input the better and I will be very grateful. Plus one lucky person who leaves their email address on the survey by August 10th will get a little crafty gift made by yours truly. (This is the first time I have done a survey like this so please let me know if there are any problems)
The first Craft Getaway Weekend is planned for 19th, 20th & 21st of September (Friday night arrival to Sunday afternoon) and bookings will open on the 10th of August. For the first getaway there is a discount for multiple bookings. We will be catering for small groups (4 to 8) so if you have a few friends that are interested we can tailor a program to your liking.
I will post details of the craft program (as will Marita) when I get the results of the survey. If you have any crafty (or like to be crafty) friends send them this way because I would like as much feedback as possible.

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

 

 

I would love your feedback.

You can either comment here, or you can also comment or follow me on Facebook 

or Instagram @oneearlybird