Friday 23 November 2012

Little by Little...

... I am getting things done here. The two candle mats I was working on are finished, backed in a Christmas graffiti style fabric I found in the bottom of a box, and bound in a red snowflake remnant also found when I dug deep enough.


I finally got round to remembering to buy some starch so gave my wee little crochet stars a good spray, pinned them out and let them dry. This seems more than adequate to achieve the desired star shape. I've strung them on some of my divine twine and am liking how it looks. Now to just crochet a few dozen more stars and I will be there.

I also made a few crochet snowflakes yesterday. Using the last of my Stiffy (Sob! Must buy some more.) I pinned them out and let them dry. The Stiffy gives a much more firm set to the snowflakes than the starch does to the stars, but is to be expected with a product called Stiffy after all.


Have you noticed something about the above photos? They were taken outside! Yes, really, we are having a rare moment of sunshine so not one to miss the opportunity I reacquainted myself with my favourite backdrop - the trampoline surface. It certainly cheers me up to no end to see a sky looking like this.


If the sky wasn't enough to cheer me up, then receiving my order from Pink Castle certainly did. I got lured in by their 24 hour sale just over a week ago. (25% off everything, including sale fabrics. Every fabric shown below was in the sale section.) I had a weak moment and clicked the buy button rather than just phantom shopping as I usually do, you know, filling a basket and then closing the tab before you actually purchase.

From left to right: The Birds and The Bees by Tula Pink, Songbird by Carina Gardner,
Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, and Madrona Road by Violet Craft
Willow by My Mind's Eye, and Front Row by Free Spirit
All Denyse Schmidt - three Chicopee and one Hope Valley
Sunshine, small projects finished and new fabric! Can a day get any better? Oh yes it can! Because both my girls are in school today and there is going to be some socialising going on round here this weekend. And on that note, I have some cleaning and cooking to do.

Susan

27 comments:

  1. Learning to make crochet stars has been on my to-do list since I was 12. Love your candle mat too!!!

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  2. still laughing my butt off at stiffy.
    Sorry, I can't be remotely sensible after that

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  3. Nice goodies and I'm happy for you that the stiffy worked for you ;)
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. *snort* I think you might have lost us all at stiffy had you not added in all that fabric eyecandy too. I love those Tula ladybirds. What gorgeous bargains.

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  5. Quite lovely Susan....now my day would get much better if you shared that fabric..hahaha!!!

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  6. A lovely way to round off the week! Good luck with the cleaning (groan!) and the cooking (yeah!) x

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  7. Well done on getting so much done - I have had a completely wasted day and am indulging in some fantasy shopping now...should I press the button??

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  8. That's quite a few littles. Lovely ones at that. I starched some crochet snowflakes last night and am not sure I've sprayed them enough, though it seemed like loads and loads(twice). I would describe them as holding their points and slightly firm rather than stiff - does this sound like your starch experience? Also laughing 'cos I picked up a parcel of Pink Castle fabrics from the post office today and i have 3 of the same DS prints in mine! Love that pale grey medallion print - I must have missed that one.

    Enjoy your weekend!

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  9. Stars and snowflakes abound!! And some serious fabric love too! Having the girls at school is great for everyone!

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  10. Lovely fabric-I;m just off over there in a minute to use the black friday deals
    Love your candle rugs

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  11. OOoh stiffy snowflakes :-) love your fabric choices. So glad you actually got to buy fabric! I still feel poorly - must be bad as I've not succumbed at a single black friday deal!

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  12. S, your candle rugs are so nice and the hand quilting makes them look extra special. The fabric shopping has produced some lovelies...and the snowflakes....I want to know how to do those! Don't clean and cook too much! Di x

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  13. Lovelies all around! Enjoy the new fabrics and the weekend!

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  14. Lovelies all around! Enjoy the new fabrics and the weekend!

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  15. Ooooh, lovelies! Particularly that lime! eeeek, see you Sunday!

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  16. Sunshine, fabric purchases, stiff snowflakes and a child free day....bliss!

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  17. Fabulous hoard of fabrics! And your snowflake bunting is looking lovely! Jxo

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  18. Beautiful fabrics. I love the candle mats they are super cute.

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  19. Ha, ha, ha, phantom shopping! And here I was thinking I was the only person in the world who did that...I'm forever buying all of my fabric that way and not feeling guilty at all, also helps lessen the burden of actual reality shopping and the nasty bill at the end of the check-out procedure. I love a good sale and it would seem you do too by the look of that awesome stash!

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  20. Hehehe I love your terminology! Phantom shopping, I do it a lot! Seems it's a popular past time. Your garland and ornaments are gorgeous. I cannot crochet. My Grandma was excellent at it, but I never got her to teach me unfortunately. Now it's all the rage.

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  21. Yay!!! So pleased you actually got to check out :-) Lovely picks. Snowflakes are lovely too! Have fun Sunday x

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  22. The candle mats are beautiful and I love your new fabrics!

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  23. Gotta say I do that phantom shopping a lot too. I love your candle rugs and your garden doesn't seem so deluged.

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  24. I'm interested as to what stiffy is, but I'm too afraid to google it! Beautiful fabrics, I had a weak moment too when their moving sale was on recently! The candle mats are really sweet :)

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  25. I'm so glad to see you finally got some sunshine! :) Those fabrics are gorgeous- I couldn't pass up that sale, either ;)

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  26. Hmm, wonders how much she can smuggle out of the house while her host is on the school run... ;o)

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