Something from Scraps...

 

hi there!

 

being the beginning of the year...

activity wise, that is...

it was decided that 'mainly music',

a community programme for sharing music with tiny kiddos,

got new tablecloths.

i got to hem them.

 

out of the scraps...

'cos the tablecloth was a bit too long,

there was enough for a cushion.

 

 

the back is held together by silver studs...hammered in.

this one's for miss holly, age 2.

at the end-ish of last year
i took some photos of a frangipani flower.
gradually the petals fell off
and a bare stem was left.

 

 i just left it in the jar
&
before long little leaves formed
reaching out to the light,
roots began to grow in the water.

next spring
i'll plant it out in the garden.

i've just found out
that the swimming pool opens again...
clean and fresh,
after being flooded last week,
on wednesday..yay!

hope you've got good things planned this week too...

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Summer Apron...

g'day!

 

isn't it lovely

when you get to the end of a little list

&

the last item

gets a big tick.

 

this summer apron

has got the tick of approval from it's new owner

so i'm happy too.

 

 

 

blue skies and sunshine

are the essence of summer

don't you think?

 

...not to mention

sprigs of fresh green with tiny red buds...

 

how could i not be energised

sewing this sweet combination of fabrics?

 

 

the details make sewing fun...

 

cute buttons & a bit of selvedge

ric rac trim

'if' embroidery tag

 

all wrapped up in a bow!

 

 

 

tailored to fit

a standard sized dining room chair..hehe!

 

i'm hoping this sweet monday

is the start of a sunny week for you all...

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Zig Zag Bag!

 

hello!

 

do you remember what my goals were for last saturday?

well i really didn't expect that you would

after all i can hardly remember that far back myself!

 

 

 

i wanted to sew the 2 cushions for miss a's 'being renovated' room...tick!

i also wanted to finish the last of 3 bags for ms d...haha..now it's a tick for that as well...

{...and the apron..well i cut that out just this morning!}

my list is nearly done.

 

this is my 'zig zag bag'

the last of three bags for ms d...

 

 

 

i love the way the zig zags make other geometric forms

when two bits of zig zag meet.

 

 

 

 

last year was so busy and emotionally fraught

as we tried to get ready for the wedding in taiwan

that i can't really even remember enjoying the lead up to christmas.

 

this year i am having a good time.

 

 

i am enjoying all of the end of year parties...

i've loved picking out funny presents for my daughter & partner in canada

and wrapping and sending off their parcel...

i'm loving sewing a few presents for other people to give at christmas...

 

&

 

i'm going to enjoy decorating a real christmas tree this year.

this morning i found a sign outside a local fruit & veg shop...

 

real

christmas trees

$15

 

yay!

i was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen.

well maybe this wednesday there will be a delivery

and i will have an 8 foot high

real christmas tree in my lounge room...

but

i will try not to 'count my chickens'

just in case.

 

i can't wait for that piney christmas tree scent to bring pure joy to my nostrils!

 

are you enjoying the christmas season

this year?

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

p.s...the little red card at the top was in my kikki.k box of goodies delivered this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sew Stitchy Bird Cushion...

 

good afternoon!

 

sweltering hot

i'm here at my computer

with the fan blowing on my back

&

wishing a breeze

would sweep through the window

and cool my reddening face.

 

 

 

speaking of red...

the second cushion is finished.

 

this will go on miss a's bed

at the completion of her bedroom makeover..

{which her mum is doing while she's in thailand...see previous posts}

 

 

 

this one was smooth sailing.

i cut it out in the cool of the evening on sunday

while the church across the road

serenaded carols from their front lawn

during their annual christmas celebration.

 

living across the road from a church

certainly has benefits!

 

 

 

{i have found the secret of getting an even row of studs.

 i did the ones that show on the outside first

then if the bottom halves are slightly crooked it doesn't matter...

'cos they're not showing.

i did it the other way around last time

and they looked slightly skewiff on the back of the aqua cushion.}

 

 

early on sunday morning...

well, not that early, 6 am,

i woke up the household for a few minutes

while i hammered the studs in

and finished off a few seams.

the red cushion was finished before i went to church just after 8.

{..and i got the washing up done before church as well!}

 

 

 

 

tomorrow..tuesday

i will hand them over to go to their new home

'cos miss a arrives home at the end of this week.

 

this morning i started on the final bag for miss d...

 

 

it is wonderful looking at all your beautiful winter pictures

as i swelter here..

i find them so refreshing,

even though i love summer flowers and ocean pics too.

 

 

have a marvellous monday...whatever the temperature!

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 



Aqua Hexie Cushion...

good afternoon!

 

wow...it's the first of december...the christmas month...

that deserves a little sparkle don't you think?

 

 

 

just to get you into the spirit of the season!

 

 

yesterday i was telling you about a mum

who is doing up her daughter's room

while she's away volunteering in thailand.

 

i volunteered to sew a couple of cushions

which will enhance the new decor.

 

the first one is finished...

 

 

thankfully.

 

it's not that i didn't want to sew it...

on the contrary,

i was so eager to get it started,

that after shopping in the cool of the morning,

i got home just as the room i sew in was heating up.

 

my cutting out was a near disaster

with a false start to the red fabric on the back..an inch too narrow...

and having to be recut

then the sides of the hexies weren't straight

and i shaved off the edges...

getting it looking this good was a miracle!

 

 

my sewing machine computer

had a meltdown about buttonholes the other week

so i had to think of a different way to fasten the back of the cushion.

 

i went to lincraft and got some studs...silver and bronze.

 

just as well i bought a packet of twenty

'cos i hammered a piece upside down on the first attempt.

fortunately mr m was at hand and explained gently to my heat strained brain

how they work.

the test piece went ok ,

but i took his advice then and had a break and a banana sandwich.

 

 

revived and revitalised

the cushion ...studs 'n all...albeit slightly wonky

got completed.

 

well, that was quite a saga wasn't it?

 

moral of the story...

don't work in a hot, hot room

&

have lunch before you start!

 

 

take care...

 

naturally Carol xox

 



 



For Your French Books?

good afternoon!

today is bursting with summer!

it's hot, skies are blue

those little singing insects are back in the trees...

'tis pretty much perfection.

 

 

i took some pictures

of a 'book bag' that's decked out

in eiffel towers

and black and white polka dots...

 

 

she's nearly eighteen

&

in love with all things french

&

especially parisian.

 

 

 

ah, though

 

we are all in love with paris...

 

city of lights

 

city of love.

 

she and i are not so different after all.

 

this is a day

that lends itself to dreaming...

so both of us,

all of us

we will dream of paris!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 





Red.

 

hi!

 

meet red.

 

red the gingerbread man...

 

 

red is a gingerbread man with plenty of bling!

 

 

 

he's a blingin' red head.

 

 

 

here's his dog...

red dog.

 

 

they've been hanging around together

ever since they were stitched up!

 

 

 

red the gingerbread man & red the dog

are part of the christmas ornament swap

@ christinalowry designs.

 

they'll be posted off to their new home

by the end of the week.

 

thanks so much for all your kind comments

...i'm feeling much better now...

and i'm sure it's because of all the love you sent to me!

 

many hugz to all of you...

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 

 



My Monday List...

good morning!

around this neck of the woods

the school holidays are over...

so the schedule is switched on to 'normal'.

 

on mondays

that means...

 

that interspersed with a bit of this

 

 

{saturday morning's effort}

 

 

there has to be more of this...

 

 

 

&

 

there may be some of these going on here as well....

mopping

dusting

scraping

stacking

removing

tidying

wiping

adjusting

washing

smoothing

hanging

immersing

scrubbing

folding

organising

facilitating

exhibiting

&

wearing of the best apron (optional)

 

this list is in no particular order.

will be done in no particular order

&

may not be completed in it's entirity...it may take weeks or longer!

 

it is however, my intent to reserve some time on a monday

to pursue these activities to some extent...

&

more than i have to date on a monday.

 

happy housekeeping or whatever appeals to you!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Bright 'n Early...

 

a cheery good morning to all this friday!

 

i am up bright and early this morning,

i'm mr t's back up alarm clock.

this is his uni day

&

he has to be up before six as it is about an hour's drive away.

 

 

already the sun is shining and sparkling

through the net curtains next to me...

 

 

 

the town is just waking up....

 

 

 

 

kara has been out sniffing around, morning business you know...the doggy kind...

 

 

 

so why am i taking photos

this early?

 

i want to show you the window covering i made yesterday morning

to keep the morning sun out of ms s's computer area in the front room...

before the sun gets to it and it just becomes a dark blob with bright edges...hehe!

 

 

i bought this fabric on sale last year...a yard of each for about five dollars a piece

&

a simple rod, about five as well...plus ends, another two dollars fifty,

so all in all a window covering for under twenty dollars...

i think that's pretty good.

 

yep...we're keeping it real here this morning...

no styling, just candid camera.

i'm inordinately pleased with my efforts

 'cos it beats the old blue sheet that's been hanging here for a while!



 

now i'm off to make that orange juice i need

to make my insides zing

before i have a little look around to see what you guys have been up to...

 

enjoy your weekends...

wishing you sunshine and butterflies,

roses and cuddles!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 



Messing with Lyrics!

good afternoon!

 

when i'm sitting at the sewing machine,

piecing together some little project,

often a phrase will stick in my mind.

 

sometimes it's a person i'm thinking of...

the recipient usually of my messing around,

but on this day it was

random lyrics from 'the sound of music'...

one of my all time favourite musicals.

when i saw it for the first time

i fully aspired to be julie andrews when i grew up...hehe...

apart from singing a few tunes i'm nothing like her!

 

 

so...guess what was going through my head this time...

 

 

 

 

ray! a drop of golden sun....

 

remember?

doh a deer, a female deer...ray, a drop of golden sun

me, a name i call myself...far, a long long way to run!

 

another guess?

 

what about this one?

not as obvious i think....

 

 

well..

this one's a bit convoluted..hehe!

 

"raindrops on roses"

 

as in

raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens

bright copper kettles & warm woollen mittens....

 

these are a few of my favourite things!

 

the convolution?

the beads made me think of raindrops...and it was raining as i sewed...

the pink..made me think of roses,

as anyone would think then...raindrops on roses! haha

 

though of course you may be thinking something completely different by now...

like

"daisy, daisy, tell me your answer do, i'm half crazy all for the love of you"!

 

i couldn't blame you!

 

what are you up to this wednesday?

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 



Friday's in the Bag!

good morning!

 

i've discovered "picmonkey"....

 

 

i've had some fun this week...

the vespas go to christina today,

the girls and boys with trailing scarves will go to a birthday girl on sunday

little yellow is in the making

&

bicycles will be a christmas prezzy for a little girl

in north queensland.

 

i just got these pics taken

before both cameras ran out of charge!

 

i can see i'm going to have lotsa fun with picmonkey...

i hope lotsa fun's on the way for you this weekend.

 

have a good one!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 



Making Mountains out of Molehills...

good afternoon!

i made this cushion earlier this year...
during the period my computer wasn't working
and just never posted it here.

i do have a soft spot for selvedges and scraps.

 

have you ever had something small

escalate before your very eyes into something it was never meant to be?

 

this happened to me

when i innocently ordered an omelette with sides of mushrooms and a grilled tomato

at lunch time today.

 

the waitress brought the omelette...perfect...but no sides.

so the omelette went back to gather it's mushies and tomato...fine i thought.

but no...

a while went past

& i realised, oh no!

the chef is making another omelette as well.

 

eventually...

another omelette comes out.

plain, this time... with mushrooms on the side.

 

oh well, i thought, i'll just eat this and shut up...

but a friend jumps up and talks to the chef.

thank you, i said, appreciating the help but feeling a little bit embarrassed...

'cos..well, getting it wrong twice?

 

i went over to the counter, menu in hand.

i explained...to the girl who took the order.

'fine' she said, ' i'm sure the chef has understood'.

'that's good' i said back.

 

haha!

looks like no one understood.

 

ten minutes later...

i get a styrofoam container.

in it was

the plain omelette

on top of

the original omelette

&

the mushrooms!

 

i think if i had uttered a whisper

the chef himself

would have thrown eggs at me..haha!

 

i ate the warmer omelette, paid and came home.

i had to chuckle though...i'm not offended at the chef or the waitress...

'cos it was just a giant lesson in miscommunication

&

i'm still not sure whose!

 

next time

i'm not ordering the omelette!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 

 



Giveaway Very Pink Petite Tote!

good news!

a giveaway!

 

i've made another petite ..very pink...tote

just for one of your little girls,

probably best suited for 2-7 year olds,

but younger ones will grow into it soon enough....

 

 

&

i'm giving it away

to one of my followers!

 

so anybody who follows 'naturally carol' will be eligible,

just leave a comment here..on this post
by the end of sunday...aest..queensland time,

&

the winner will be posted here

on monday, 24 september.

 

my decision will be unequivocally indisputable..hehe!!!!

{which means that my decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into!}

 

 

so if you have any little pinkophiles in your life

i know they'd love a petite tote

to help you with shopping...

guaranteed to fit at least a few sweet surprises inside

&

 has two outside pockets

just waiting for a petite purse or tissue

...perfect for tiny hands to hide tiny treasures in too.

 

 

feel free to become a follower

&

if you have a good reason not to

i'll accept that too!

 

oh..and by the way

everybody..aussie and international followers are welcome to enter,

i will send it 'round the globe for you...

 

hoping you're all feeling terrific this thursday!

 

 

naturally Carol xox


p.s ...i've just linked in with mycreativespace..hop over there for some scrummy creativity.

 

 

 





 

 



Ella's Petite Tote...

good afternoon...

here i am

basking in the warmth of today,

alone but not lonely

relaxing but not vegetating!

 

i made a mini me tote bag...

i adapted the 'jane market bag'

for a small girl.

 

just for fun!

 

 

 

 

friends

...with geoffrey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it really is only a tiny version

measuring about 10" x 10" front on...

sides & base included, about a foot square.

 

 

 

 

lined with 'nicey jane' spots...

 

 

 

ella loves pink...

hopefully this has enough pink

for a pinkophile.

 

this tiny tote is on it's way to miss e now...

her dad is a dentist and is fixing ms s's teeth this afternoon...

so i didn't put a packet of sweets inside!

 

hoping the wednesday you're whiling away is altogether wonderful...

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Hot Pink!

 good afternoon

on this quiet monday...

 

mr w left this morning

to go back to work,

up north again,

won't see him for at least a fortnight...

{talk daily though}

 

mr m

who was here just for the weekend

went back to brisbane shortly after.

 

it's quiet here

&

there are empty spots where their bags and clothes were,

where computers and phones abounded...

where shoes were abandoned.

 

mr w was here for a full ten days

i'd gotten used to having him around...

feeling married again!

 

it's a monday of adjustment around here.

 

on a brighter note...

 

 

 

made this.

still the jane market bag...

just jazzed up the colour a bit

&

relaxed the pattern a tad.

 

bring on summer i say!

 

how is it at your place today?

 

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Little Brown Nut...

hello today!

 

when my sister was very small

my dad used to call her his

little brown nut...

 

she was very cute...

short dark brown shiny hair

shining brown eyes

olive brown skin

 

when i was making this...

 

 

i found myself thinking of my sister

jill of velvetmoss

&

knew it was for her.

 

 

so this one

is not jane's market bag

it's jill's.

 

i'm sure she'd love a visit from you too!

 

i'm hoping you'll have a very special weekend with your family...

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 



Summer Blue!

good morning to you!

 

like all good foggy mornings

soon a patch of blue was forming

right over us.

 

i've been sewing another bag,

this one's for me

'cos i'm preparing for summer blue

&

golden yellow...

 

 

 

pegged by lime birds...

 

 

 

onto the banksia tree.

 

 

there are less words and more pictures today

as i'm a bit fuzzy-headed this week.

 

i'm doing more blog reading than writing this week,

thank goodness

that blog posts are short & sweet compared to books...

'cos i've read about two pages of a book

before i end up asleep!

 

 

here we are looking forward to summer blue

&

perhaps where you are there are sweet memories of summer blue...

 

but whereever you are

 

i'm wishing you happiness!

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 



 p.s...i know i said that bag no.1 was for me..but i gave it to my mum in n.z! i don't think i was thinking i would love to make so many  more at that stage. i will show you the one i made for my sister next...and i'm half way through one for my brother's partner for christmas.