Craft fancy: current crochet project

Picked up this too cute for words Japanese crochet book on the weekend, and since then have been crocheting every spare moment available. Now that the weather is cooling down, I am drawn to all sorts of wooly goodness. Can't wait to show you my completed project. In the meantime, can you guess what I am making?

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Sewing fancy: Colette meringue skirt

My  Colette Sewing Handbook  arrived the other day and I thought I'll try making my own meringue skirt. The scallop edge is a lot easier than I thought, the only problem I encountered was accidentally cutting off some of the stitchings while grading the hem seams. I'll try not to be so clumsy next time. The fit was perfect, I didn't have to alter it in anyway, can definitely se myself sewing a couple more in the near future.

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Twelve by 2012 recap

So we are officially well into 2012, did I achieve the 12 goals set for  twelve by 2012 ? 

Well, lets see...

1. Start an imagined travel series 

Not exactly a series, but I have started and the idea is more refine now which I am happy about. See the first of the series  here .

2. Finish my crochet cushion cover  

Yay! I even made a fabric one to accompany my new crochet cushion. See  here .

3. Add more paintings and crafty goodness to my  shop 

A bit of a fail here, but one new item is better than none right?

4. Sell at least one item in my  shop 

Woohoo! Had my first customer on Christmas eve, he bought the tea towel within 30min of me putting it up in the shop!

5. Get back into dressmaking

Sort of, I am in the middle of finishing a dress, will show and tell soon.

6. Make more jam

Nope, no jam making unfortunately. Will need to make some by the end of this month.

7. Bake more

I have made the ugliest but tasty  choc chip cookies , meringue, super moorish poprcorn crunch using this  recipe  and a few ultra delicious veggie quiche. This is quite an achievement for someone who used to bake once a year. 

8. Try making macaroons 

Failed, see  here . Will need to try again very soon.

9. Finish reading all my magazines

No, not really. Only finish reading 2 Frankie magazines, still have a stash to go through.

10. Take a road trip  

We took a trip to  Barrington Tops  for my 31st birthday, visited  Watsons Bay  for the first time and went bush walking around Berry Island Reserve.

11. Do something unexpected for someone

I'm not sure whether I have achieved this goal, hopefully I had put a smile on someone's face this last couple of months.

12. Make at least one new friend

I'm glad to say I have made a couple of really good blog buddies and met a few new friends from Brown Owls. I look forward to developing these friendships this year.

Not one but two handmade goodness

It has taken me a good six month but I have finally replaced our sad old cushions with some new handmade goodness. The crochet one took the longest to make, but it was so worth it, will definitely make a couple more in the next few days. I am thinking a plain cushion with a couple of crochet motifs sewn in, what do you think?

Oh, also I am super stoked that  goal two of twelve by 2012  can be crossed off.

The best girlfriend in the world

Well, not really. I just like to pretend I am. Inspired by the 12 Dates of Christmas by  A Beautiful Mess , I decided to create an emergency date jar. The idea is pretty simple, print out as many date ideas as you can, put them in a jar, take one out whenever you are stuck for ideas, and ta da, a super fun date to plan and look forward to.

Mine were pretty random, from going to the corner shop to get ice cream, to taking a road trip to Wollongong. It is quite unpredictable, but I think that's the fun of it. We have been super busy the past week, so haven't really had time to put the jar into practice. Part of me wishes this silly season be over soon, so we can go on one of these dates.

It's better late than never

You might remember the post I did on the  Handmade Decoration Swap . Well, we were suppose to send our Christmas decoration to our partner on the 30th of last month. But as you have guessed, I have only just finished it yesterday. I am posting my package today. I hope Ms Talia won't be too disappointed. It took me much longer than expected to crochet these little snowflakes, but I am quite happy with the result. It feels good to know they are going to a new home.

Handmade decoration swap

I saw this over at Creative Collective the other day and I couldn't help but join in the festive fun. The idea is pretty simple, sign up to the swap, get your creative juices flowing, start crafting and send your lovely handmade decoration to your swap partner by November 30th. Sounds fun right? Why don't you join in the fun as well? You can read more about it here at Tamara's blog.

Crafty goodness

Finally added some new crafty items to the shop. Come check it out here. The prices are really reasonable and they are all lovingly made by me :) Perfect for anyone who appreciates a bit of woolly goodness.

Belated weekend post

Sorry for this belated post. I've been extremely busy the past week, didn't really have time to do any illustrations other than freelance work. Thought I'll do a photo diary instead to change the pace up a bit. So this weekend, I made a batch of custard biscuits. They were super delicious and pretty much made their way into our tummies within a day. It tasted a lot like melting moments, I was expecting more of a custard hit, but hey, who's complaining. You can get the recipe here.

Bought a wicker basket from a secondhand shop to house all my craft projects, however Miso took full ownership of it the moment I placed it down on the floor. I think I'll need to get another one specifically for him this weekend.

Here is another house item that Miso has taken ownership of. Our house seems to be filled with Miso's hair at the moment. I don't mind it much, I wonder whether he has any concern with his hair loss.

Mat made some scrumptious pizza for dinner, he experimented with a cracked egg on the pizza. It didn't cook as well as we imagined, but definitely worth a try again next time.

Started a new crochet project. I want to turn it into a table runner for our coffee table/antique wooden chest. Not sure how long it will take me since it is not even a tenth of the desire length so far. Might have to take it with me to the next Brown Owls meeting.

Took a walk to Newtown and found some super adorable paste up. I love this little chubby girl. I think we all feel like her every once in a while.

How clever is this! A cross stitch paste up! I bet it took forever to make. I'm all for crafty paste ups around the city.

Bought a mangosteen from the supermarket. I have never ever had one before. The supermarket lady assured me that it would be super delightful. Going to "unveil" it after dinner tonight. I can't wait.

Hope you guys are having a good week so far. Hopefully I'll find some time soon to post up an illustration. I have got a few project ideas developing in my head, can't wait to show you all at a later date.