WOYWW 248 OMGosh... is it really?

Well, this is my work desk this Wednesday morning so I am going to join Julia for What Is On Your Work Wednesday, I have been playing with my sewing machine and new toy - an overlocker!!  They had them on special at our local Spotlight and it just ended up in the trolley somehow!!

So I found this lovely fabric with a very Graphic 45 feel about it and decided to update my kneeling stool that I use in front of my scrap desk.

and there was enough material to make an apron to stop ink and paint getting on my clothes

and I trimmed some old cleaning cloth fabric with the heads so now I have this pretty set at my desk.  

and here is my new overlocker with the little mat and thread catcher I made for it,

and matching cover to keep the dust out.

Looking forward to visiting desks, haven't been able to do so for a few months, so have missed loads I am sure.  

T on Tuesday

Joining Elizabeth for T on Tuesday with..... TEA! ;)  I have't done any playing with paper for nearly a week, my desk is deserted and empty.  I haven't felt very well (diverticulitis is the pits) but today I actually feel as though the antibiotics have kicked in and I will survive this second bout in as many weeks.

So I have found some scraps of material and I am going to attempt to make a bow... it should prove interesting as I haven't got a clue what to do but think I have a mental image of what I want it to look like.

I have chosen reds and blues because I want to be able to attach it to these...

Yes, one red and one blue bag... they are not my normal style of bag but they were FREE!  You see, I went clothes shopping for summer clothes and if you spent a $100 you got a free bag.... well, it was pretty easy to do that and when the lady was cashing up I asked if I could split them into two purchases... thus getting two bags and she said yes! ;) LOL 

Anyways, that is me sorted for the day, visiting T folk and playing with the sewing machine... the cats are in their run but the temperature is creeping up so not sure how long they will be out there.

Pandy is in her favourite spot on the high shelf above the ficus tree

while Tom-Tom is sprawled in the shade on the fake grass we bought them because the cat run is all gravel.

It's supposed to be spring here in Brisbane but its going to be 32 degrees (90F) today and tomorrow is supposed to be 36 degrees (97F) and I don't think I want to even think about Thursday at 37 C !!

OK... this is the first attempt... not quite sure it works... I have the sneaking suspicion that peeps may think I just got a rosette at the local dog show....  bigger centre? longer legs? scrap and start over? 

Little Book of Secrets - Vintage Sewing

So at last the second of the little books of secrets has arrived at it's destination in the UK!!  Yay!!

Lynne's chosen theme was vintage sewing... so I hope I have covered both ideas.

I did encounter a certain fatness problem once I started to decorate all the signatures!

As you can see.... but I think the effect is vintagey fatness of a good sort!!

I used lots of sewing themed stamps and did some embossing.

I got my sewing machine out and did lots of sewing on the pages.

Made an extended flap page with sewing themed pictures.

Added some Maya Road chipboard sewing pieces.

Made some slide in tags to go under the velvet ribbons.

Some lace frames and embossed stamping.

Made a couple of pocket pages and added some tags.

Lots of lace from Saudi Arabia.

More lace and some vintage pattern downloads.

A pull down tab with silver embossed dress form image and a pocket page.

The pocket was supposed ;) to look like a paper pattern holder.

and inside are some patterns stamped onto brown tissue paper to represent patterns.

More stamping and embossing...

My Grandmother's favourite quote.

This is the base with the four drawers filled with sewing bits and bobs.  I hope Lynne like it.

Reel It In...

Isn't it weird how small the world has become?  Internet and mobile phones have reduced the distances to seconds... I grew up as an expat child in Libya (I can mention this now because people all of a sudden actually know where I am talking about) and distances were truly distant back then, we couldn't phone friends and family (most didn't have a phone), there were no computers and Interwebs or VOIP phones and we had to rely on snail mail for any news from back home.  We went home once a year during the school summer vacation, visited Grandparents, bought everything we couldn't get and then went back for another year... it was just the way it was and whilst we also didn't have televisions, news took a while to seep through and was old before we learned of it.
A few weeks ago I got a message on Facebook from a lady I have never met who mentioned that she had been reading my blog and would I be kind enough to tell her where the British Chippie was in Calgary that I mentioned going to!!  LOL  It seemed her husband was out here in Calgary working and rather fancied a nice fish supper and that she lived in North East Scotland not far from where my home is!!
Anyways, a few emails back and forth and Frances asked if there was anything I couldn't get.... YES!!  Bisto Gravy Granuals!!  So she kindly went shopping and bought me some gravy granuals and got her husband to bring them out to Calgary after his next trip home.  How cool is that?  Aren't people nice, especially scrapbooker type people who in my opinion are amongst the most generous and friendly types of folk that exist.
So I thought I would make her something to say Thank You... but what to make?  I made a small canvas and then wondered if it was her style... I thought about making a mini book but then decided that perhaps the weight might be an issue... then a light bulb flickered dimly for a few minutes in my brain and I made her this... now, I will point out that the cotton reel box is not my idea.... I saw a version of it on a blog a couple of weeks ago and loved it and I would like to be able to point you in the direction to see the original version but I can't find it again... do you have any idea how many blogs I visit in any given week?  I'm hoping that if she sees this, perhaps she would leave me a comment and I can then add a link to the original and thank her for the inspiration.  Oh how I love the blogging world!!  Michelle saw this and realised I was referring to her lovely cotton reel box!! Thank you Michelle, your little box was truly inspiring!!

Yes, it's a cotton reel (or spool if depending on which side of the pond you happen to be)!! And don't you love those teeny cotton reel hanging from the big one?

and the lid comes off and inside is a snippet roll.

Here is the snippet roll...

I had fun decorating the top with sewing paraphanalia...I painted it so that the chipboard would have a wood effect look about it.

and look what I made it out of!!  LOL  A Bisto Gravy tub... it seemed fitting to upcycle it for her.