Thursday, December 30, 2010

tears


With all your life before you.
And all is good and true .
Ah girl ! The days are glorious .
When all the world is new .
by Henry Lawson .

My dear mother passed away this week .
I have cried a million tears .
I know there are more than a million to come .

I will be back when I'm coping a bit .

I love you mum xxxx

Tuesday, December 21, 2010


I'm really looking forward to 2011 .
Thanks to the exposure this blog has given me
I felt confident enough to scale down my
work outside my home to concentrate
more on Clare's Craftroom.

It is both exciting and scary but some
opportunities have come my way
and I would be mad not to have a go .
With less work it also means no more packing
orders and doing paperwork in the wee hours
and then having to go to work .
It means being able to take photos in daylight .
It means being around more for my kids .
You'd think it might mean having a tidier house
but I don't think that's going to happen .

Thankyou to all of you who have bought my patterns,
visited me and encouraged me .
Thankyou to the girls who make me laugh
in the middle of the night with silly emails .

I hope you all have a safe and merry Christmas !
xxxxxxxxx

I'll be back next week with my first new pattern for 2011.






Thursday, December 16, 2010

flat out

I'm still around but just as everyone else is
I've been busy , busy , busy !

I have my final pattern release for
the year next week , phew!

I also hope to then be able to give you
some news on some exciting happenings
for The Craftroom in the new year .

Until then here is a little look at my new design .



I hope you have time next week to visit and see it all !




Tuesday, December 14, 2010

charmed I'm sure

A friend gave me some kilt pins , she thought I mightbe 
able to use them .
I have never done any beading or jewellery making
but this was a great opportunity to try .
I've started a little collection of charms and
been eyeing off my daughters bling and scheming
ways I can get at it .

This is probably not the best time
 of year to try a new craft .
My shop and my ebay shop are
the busiest they've ever been .
We are right in the middle of renovations
and the kids start school holidays tomorrow
and I have two jobs .

Of course I'll try to fit this in too
 but there's no guarantee I'll be charming about it .

Saturday, December 11, 2010

hanging thingies tutorial

These hanging thingies are so quick to make
you can make a couple in no time and have
them ready as Christmas gifts .
Supplies needed -
8" square of 2 fabrics .
8"square of thin wadding
8" fat ric rac ,8" pom pom trim
matching ribbon or ric rac for hanging


Stitch the fat ric rac about 1/2" from edge on outer fabric
on two sides only .
Place your thin wadding down , lay the outer fabric
on top with the right side up .
Secure the pom pom trim along the outer fabric
on the same edges as the ric rac .
Lay the inner fabric on top with the right side
facing down .


Stitch through all layers using a 1/4 " seam allowance
and leaving a gap for turning .
Turn through gap and check that all
layers have been stitched and pom pom trim is secure .
Turn inside out and trim corners .
Turn right side out again and press .


Fold in half with the ric rac on the inside
 to form a triangle .

Stitch from bottom point to top , clip bottom point .

Pretty up the front (and disguise where the ric rac may
not quite meet ) with a crochet circle and covered button .

Stitch some ric rac to the high point at the back for hanging .
I also added a white paper doily .

My hanging thingies were filled with mint
flavoured chocolates wrapped in cellophane
and tied with fabric scraps .


I'd love to see what fabrics you make yours in ,
please let me know so I can come and have a look .

Thursday, December 9, 2010

cushioning the blow


I've done a lot of admiring of circle in square blankets .
I really , really want one .
Not one person has offered to give me theirs
so I had to start my own .
I used 4 ply cotton , what was I thinking !
This was going to take forever as each square
ended up about 3 inches .
The squares have been turned into a cushion cover
and I think I'll use thicker wool for a blanket.

Or just keep waiting until someone sends me theirs .

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

not my finest hour


We lost power again the other night
so we had a barbie for tea .
I was having craft withdrawals
and was determined to craft something , anything !
Of course I think it is perfectly normal to boil up
old knitting needles on one burner as
the steak is cooking on the other hotplate .

My needle bangles were not as successful as I'd hoped
but sometimes crafters get really desperate !



Sunday, December 5, 2010

crafting will resume soon , I hope !

This is a very quick post as I'm not sure
how long the internet will last .
Phone , net , and power are all very dodgy at the moment .

Really just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou
to all the nice people that have
emailed me checking how things are going .
You are so thoughtful and I really appreciate it .
I'm sorry I haven't been visiting anyone
or replying but I'm sure you will understand .

We have more rain due on Wednesday ,
if they would just shut the damn highway
I wouldn't have to go to work .

Edited to add , yes Jack did make it
safely home the next day !
He had a great time too .


Saturday, December 4, 2010

adding value to your home

Beautiful views of green rolling paddocks .

Add a lot of rain .

We now have a water view .

The buses came into to town at lunchtime
yesterday to collect the kids from school
as the roads were flooding quickly .
There are hay bales being swept down the
creek that until just recently had been
bone dry for over ten years .

My son jumped on one of the buses yesterday
to be taken over the other side of town
before he was trapped on this side .
Excuse me Jack ,
YOU LIVE ON THIS SIDE !

Thursday, December 2, 2010

my creative space

I make a different decoration for my family each Christmas .
Last year it was red and white stockings full of caramels .

This year it is these hanging thingies with chocolate mints .
I've only made three so far and as there are
two brothers and five sisters to make for
I'd really better get a wriggle on .

Lots more creative spaces here .

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

some crafters just know when to stop and some winners


I made my hanging basket decoration last year
and I was in love with it from the moment I hung it up .

I saw in a magazine recently where they joined two
baskets together and threaded lights through it .
Of course that would be far too simple for me so
I decided to cover the baskets with
 tinsel first and then the lights .
It now looks like I have a big tangled mess
of tinsel with a few lights .
In my house it has been called The Thing
and a few other not very nice names .
At least I tried .
This also may be why Oprah hasn't called .


On to the winners of my 300 post giveaway .
The Sew a Metre book goes to Chookyblue .
The fat quarters go to Samelinas Mum
The pattern goes to Marble Rose

Ladies please email me with your details .

Thanks to everyone for entering and visiting .

Seeya tomorrow !