Do you smell Garlic? (based on a true story)
So the other day… (well a while now, but anyway). I’m sitting painting (varnishing technically) my steampunk table and I keep saying to my favourite guy in the whole world, Do you smell garlic? I asked about what was in the oven, if the dishes had left over garlic in them, if there was garlic in the bin.. blah blah blah.  This went on for hours. Eventually quite late in the evening, I realised that my recycled jar come varnish holder was an old garlic jar and the lid is what I was pouring varnish into…

Note to self… it may be worth keeping jars, but not garlic jars, garlic jars are EVIL mkay.

This table I was varnishing…

Miniature Steampunk Map Table Top Work in Progress

I found this map (by someone named Monkey Paw on Deviantart) that they designed for a game. I printed a copy for myself in 1:6 scale (which from what I understand is ok… I am not going to sell it to you or to anyone else) and am in the midst of decoupaging it to my 1:6 scale table for the steampunk roombox project.

At the moment it has had 3 coats of PVA glue, then 3 coats of gloss varnish, one sanding and another 2 coats of gloss varnish (more glossing to go!).

I’m unsure of the legs of the table (I made the table out of Balsa wood – Bunnings Birthday Voucher FTW! – using this tutorial from About.com). I think they look a bit too thin.  They are mostly square, though they don’t look it in the pic I am about to show you, but I still think chunky should be the order of the day here… It also needs some copper-y-fying – that’s a whole new word I made up! 5 syllables of goodness.

Miniature Steampunk Map Table Work in Progress

And  just in case you thought all this miniature stuff was for nobody in particular, here is Violetta, checking out the map table.

Violetta (Pullip Eos) Planning her next Expedition at her new Map Table

I don’t know if I have actually told you, but the roomboxes are going to be made out of Ikea LACK tables. (yep the $12.95 ones).  So I was reading up about things that people do with LACK tables (may fave of course has to be the LACK rack even if I am not a hardware geek, it is still pretty cool!) and some just stack em and hope for the best; then there are the gluers; but I went with the dowel jointing idea and pretty much got all my supplies as listed here (along with awesome LACK cutting table!).  Mine are so far just stacked… but they won’t stay that way.

Here Lucrezia checks out if there is enough head room in the LACK Stack Roombox

Since the dollies don’t have to stoop or look like the crazy big heads that they are, height is pretty good I think.  The Lack table is 45cm high and the ‘roof’ is 5cm deep which gives us an effective ceiling height of 40cm or 8ft in playscale. And now that I have discovered this new(to me) blog Large and in Charge (go read her entire blog, I did, she is hysterical and makes cool stuff and tells you about it… what more do you want?) – I will also be attempting lighting… like real working lights.  The boy, probably doesn’t think this is a good idea, because he is constantly wandering around the house turning off all the lights I leave on. I’m learning babe… :/

Dollie Find!

On my way to the bus stop from work there is a Salvation Army store, that I occasionally pop in to check out for doll related stuff. I have purchased one top which I thought would be great for dresses (see below) but I rarely see anything I’m really excited about.  The good stuff must not live there or I must not be destined to grab it.  But yesterday I got these which I am quite happy with and I think will make find door side topiaries for my Italian Streetscape Roombox, what do you think?

Violetta Modelling the Op Shop Dolly Find of the Day, Two miniature Topiary Trees

ok… on to the sewing.

Sewing Stuff

I’m toying (probably more than toying) with the idea of sewing and selling some doll clothes and other mini stuff, so that I can buy more dolls… tee hee! [insert mental image of me rubbing my hands together with glee here]

I have in a previous post showed you the Aloha dress that I made using free pattern available from xoxo Blythe. here are the others…

Aloha Dress Clones, still waiting on trim

Then there are the skirts… the many many skirts. I realised that if I ignored grain (ahem is that against the law?) I could get 1 skirt out of 1 5inch square so I murdered some left over charm squares and left over left overs…

The one on the top sewn by hand, with ric rac trim, the others are waiting on trim but sewn on the machine

but wait there’s more…

Dolly Skirts Waiting on Velcro Closures and Trim

I also did some patchwork stitching, but I will tell you about that next post.

Good Night! Where ever you are!

I hope you all had a lovely Easter. I was camping at the bottom of the Yorke Peninsula here in South Australia. I got a little bit carried away with the panomara function on my new Samsung NX11 Camera.  The rest of the post will be about mini’s but just look at the view from our camping site!

Coffin Beach Camp Site at Hillocks Drive, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

There are a few little things I didn’t have room for in my last post about ‘creating planets’.

I found these tiny little phials (bottles) from an e-bay seller that I knew would be fantastic for little apothecary bottles in my Steampunk Roombox. I searched around for labels and resized them to fit the bottles, these are a few of the results.  One of the bottles has contents here, it’s actually glue that I spilled and had solidified into a gooey blob.  I cut them up into little pieces and they are some myseterious ingredients in one bottle.  I have not found contents for the other bottles yet.

Apothecary Bottles with Labels All Around 2.5cm or 1inch High

Then when we went camping over the weekend there were tonnes of teeny little shells in one of the layers of soil near the top of the dunes, I gathered some stuck it in one of the tackles boxes and filled up some more bottles, only these are obviously not apothecary related… But I think they will still make good mini additions for the dollies.

1inch High Glass Bottles with Teeny Shells in Them

Just as an aside, these were both taken in the same light (desk lamp shining on sewing machine extension table) and the one above with my old camera and the shell one with the new camera a small aperture and white balance setting to compensate for the yellow tinge in the lamp… cool huh?

I also wanted to show you this little dress that I made for Li Mei, it’s from a floor length dress pattern for a Blythe Doll, available for free from xoxo Blythe.  Li Mei has a type 3 Pullip body and the dress top is extremely tight, but still wearable.  I stuffed it up the first time (not reading instructions!), but I like how it came out.  The fabric is from a top I bought at an Op shop for $2.50 that I can make another 5 dresses from!

Li Mei, Modelling her xoxo Blythe Aloha Dress next to my Brother Innovis 600

Then another thing I want to make for my Steampunk Roombox for Violetta to live in is one of those old butterfly specimen collection things you get in museums (and creepy serial killers’ homes if you saw that in Silence of the Lambs!), with a Steampunk twist. I used a tutorial for doing these, but basically you need to print each butterfly twice and stick them to each other.  I used copper wire from inside electrical wiring to ‘pin’ each butterfly to my paper.

Butterfly Box Part 1 - Top Scale is in cm, bottom in Inches

Then when we got home from camping on Sunday, I still had a little time to play with some teeny things so I added a frame and some paint and stuff and here is what happened.

Butterfly Box Framed and 'Steampunk-ed Up'

I’m not that excited about it when you look through a zoom lens in macro mode, because all the foibles are kind of HELLO!!! HERE I AM!?   But when you look from further away and it’s only 4cm wide I kind of like it.

My planet also got to the next phase, which I am quite happy about, now it’s only waiting for a stand.

Globe Progress Gears Added to outer Thingie

and… just when you thought it was going to end, more photo spam, then I’ll go away!

Mag Holders Attempt 1- Quite like These, need neater Bookplates though...

Photo Album, without Title Label, for Storing Steampunkie Expedition Photos

phew….

Good Night Readers, where ever you are!

All up there were 20 entries, so I think 1 in 20 is considered quite decent odds for a giveaway.

Because I’m an IT Geek, I didn’t want to use a random number generator, so I “kicked it old skool”

Everyone's Name in a Mug (it is a soup mug so it's a bit big!)

I got my favourite Alan in the whole world to draw out a name… He did, and then said in a total butter wouldn’t melt voice, and the winner is Alan LOL I told him it was a sewing book, he didn’t want one, but he did want to win

So… the winner is:

Congratulations Nancy Sue!

Congratulations to you, and thank you so much to all who entered, I appreciate you taking the time to wish me well, let me know what you think about blogging stuff and entering.  If I won the lotto I would have got you all a book, but I’m still trying.  Nancy Sue *waves enthusiastically back at you!* I will be emailing you as soon as I publish this for your details and will get you a copy of Fresh Fabric Treats as soon as I get them.

Good Night Stitchers Where ever you are!

I’m not sure if you know, but my very first attempt at a quilt (after doing a beginners quilting class quite a while ago now I’m thinking more than 3 years ago) was an attempt to do an Amish Barn Raising quilt in rainbow colours (log cabin blocks).  It’s still partially quilted and folded in the cupboard somewhere.

Log Cabin UFO, When the top was completed

So anyway… I wasn’t too keen on doing a log cabin.  (my apologies to log cabin blocks everywhere)

Then I thought about 144 pieces in the postage stamp block and I was a little perturbed, until I found this tutorial  at Elizabeth Hartman’s Blog Oh Fransson!.  So I decided to give things a go, with this kind of cheat method.  I used very thin stayflex for my interfacing and charms from Sugar Pop by Liz Scott for Moda.

Postage Stamp Block Layout Pieces Ironed on to the Interfacing

To start off with you layout all your 1.5inch blocks on interfacing (mine is a different size to Elizabeth’s because I needed a 12.5 inch unfinished block).  Then when the pieces are secured to your interfacing you start sewing along the vertical lines.

Postage Stamp Block Rows Stitched Together in One Direction

Then there’s a whole lot of cutting and ironing of seams and you do the same in the opposite direction.  It’s a method I would do again, though I am not sure how patient I would be if I had to do lots of blocks.  This took me a few hours I’d say 2 on one night and one the next.  I don’t know how painful it is to do the same block the ‘traditional’ way because I haven’t tried it that way, but I definitely don’t think my usual sewing skills would have this many points meeting nicely.  Overall I was quite happy with the block, only one corner was a bit off the measure, so hopefully my block swap partner (Jen in PA) is happy with it!

Postage Stamp Block Completed

A few posts ago, I showed you sneak peeks of blocks I made for my December swap partner Natasha in Canada and my January Swap Partner Jody in CO, I think they should have those blocks by now, so here are the final blocks.

December Block Completed for Natasha in Canada (Fancy Stripes)

This block is the Fancy Stripes Block from Marcia Hohn’s Quilter’s Cache

January Block for Jody in CO (Pinwheel Block 1 from PS I Quilt)

This is block one from the Pinwheel Sampler Quiltalong by Rachel Griffin at PS I Quilt

Goodnight Stitchers, Where ever you are!

The steampunk room for Violetta (my Pullip EOS) needs an old style globe of earth, with copper and steampunk-like adornments, while wondering the interwebs I saw this tutorial (the site is in French, so will need to translate if required) and uses a 4cm diameter ping pong (table tennis)).  Because I am working in 1:6th (1/6th or Playscale) a 4cm diameter ball would equate to 24cm.  I did a search online and found a wonderful globe for sale at Australian Geographic (with a tall wooden stand, that I thought would suit the room), it had a diameter of 30cm.

My brain gears (sticking with the steampunk theme ) whirred a bit and figured I needed a ball with a 5cm diameter. They have loads in every craft and art store known to man, not that I am ever quite sure what they would be used for – I may look it up in a bit!  I bought two, thinking (very optimistically in hindsight) that I would use one to practise on and the other for my final product.

I searched the web for images that could be printed out flat and used for creating a spherical globe. I ended up learning a little bit too much about map projections and that I didn’t not want to build a planetary icosahedron (it would have pointy bits… I want a ball.. yeah?) and that what I needed was an interrupted sinusoidal gore map. Whatever… Q, get to the planet creation?

Then I thought I was being quite clever using the original image from here thank you Mitchell Charity, whoever you are.  I resize my pic so that it had a circumference of (those gears started clicking again, but I used a website calculator… in case you care it’s Π*2R or Π*D where R= radius and D=diameter). That is the width of my image needed to be the diameter, I changed the colouring significantly and eventually got to a point where I printed it out and went to sit down and cut out my interrupted sinusoidal map.

Attempt #1: I assumed the ball would be accurate, instead my 5mm(2inch) diameter balls were either mislabelled or in the wrong box in the store (or something like that)  They were in fact (luckily I had also bought a circle cutter which I could use as a caliper – is it caliper or calipers?) 6.5mm in diameter.

Attempt#2: I made the height the same as the width not recognising that the vertical bits only had to wrap from pole to pole on the globe, not right around it like the equator did…  I went back and adjusted the height of the image.

Attempt#3: Things were looking up and the cut out (by the way not a trivial exercise cutting the thing out each time!) map wrapped around the globe… half way through I realised that the glue was actually dissolving the polystyrene…. So it looked a bit like a moon rather than a sphere with only 2d topography.

Attempt#4: Looking even better this time…. but for the life of me, didn’t get why this happened. (now on to the second ball)

Creating Planets Attempty # 4

Attempt #5:  A little less like Attempt#4 and a little more like it should work, but still not totally covered how it should have been.

Yay... planetary goodness shown after clear glaze had been applied

I was busy trying to make a plugin work (and not only did I not succeed… I also broke comments totally!)
All done now, if you would like to enter the giveaway please add your comment to the end of the previous post.

As promised since I reached my 100 post mark (yay!), and it was my birthday and I feel like sharing, I am hosting a giveaway.

I have lots of reasons in my life to celebrate:

it’s nearly a year since I met my lovely partner, who makes me smile everyday
I’m going to have a new niece (number 2!) in August
I have a new camera (still on charging for the first time – Samsung NX11)
Life in general is pretty damn good

So I’ll give someone out there a reason to celebrate too!

I’m not a company, I’m not sponsored by anyone, I am doing this out of my own generosity, so my rules apply.  Anyone who comments on this post will go in the running, you can tell your friends and you don’t have to be following my blog.  I will chose a winner at random on Monday 2nd April at some point (Australian time).

You have a choice of the following 2 prizes (I don’t have them I will be ordering them when I find out who the winner is) – No other choices are available, I won’t give you cash instead of the prize and I won’t be expediting shipping if you live overseas.

Option A – 1 copy of Fresh Fabric Treats by Moda

Fresh Fabric Treats by Moda

Option B – 1 copy of Miniature Food Masterclass by Angie Scarr

Miniature Food Masterclass by Angie Scarr

So comment on this post and let me know the following:

1 – which book you would like to win AND

2- let me know your opinion on blogging about more than one interest (example – I am now also trying to work on my doll collection and building room boxes for the dolls, which do not have a lot to do with sewing, as a reader do you prefer the idea of seperate blogs for separate interests or one blog with both?) – I think I am doing one blog anyway, but I am curious about your opinion.

Giveaway Closes Midnight Sunday April 1st Australian Time.

I forgot last post that I had made a friend of mine a softie and I hadn’t shown it to you yet.  I didn’t want to post about it before, because I was worried that she might inadvertently see it here and then the surprise would be ruined.  So here is the little dollie I made using the gorgeous pattern by Jhoanna Monte Aranez of One Red Robin, my copy was published in the magazine Dazzling Dolls by Express Publications.

Babushka Beauty from Pattern by One Red Robin

It was the first time I used some of the decorative stitches on my Brother Innovis 600, other than to try them out on some scraps!  And incidentally also the first time I have machine stitched applique bits (the face and hood), I can be quite useless with curves and all that jazz.  The blue floral fabric is Flowers in Sky from Dazzle by Melissa Averinos, the other two fabrics are from It’s a Hoot by Momo for Moda, Trims I picked up at Spotlight and an Op shop and the rest is felt.

I also have two sneak peeks I haven’t shown you from my Block Swap Adventures last month. These are ones that I sent to my swap partners, not sure if they have them yet, so I won’t post the full pictures until I am sure they have.

December Sneak Peek sent to Natasha in Canada

January Sneak Peek sent to Jodi in CO, USA

Today I will be working on my block for Jen in PA, but no sneak peeks just yet… as I haven’t started.

It’s 7:39 am here, I have had a horrendous cold for nearly a week now and have not slept that well, which is why I am up early writing this, rather than sleeping on a Saturday Morning!

Good Night Stitchers

Wherever you Are!

Pullip EOS - Photo from Pullip Style

What happens when Q gets an idea in her head is that I get totally obssessed reading everything I can on the topic and I end up doing almost nothing… procrastination is not the same as inspiration… but that is what I do, what about you?

Anyway, I thought if I maybe started with something tiny (and by tiny you know I mean that will take a small amount of time, since by virtue of the scale thing… everything will technically be tiny!) that would help me move things along a little…

So I grabbed all my polymer clay out of ‘hiding’ set up my pasta machine, conditioned some clay and looked at a couple of “how to make a digital camera out of polymer clay” videos on yoohootube.  None of them were exactly what I was thinking of, but they helped.  I went to the Canon camera website got the dimensions of the Canon EOS and converted it to 1:6 Scale.  I drew this on a piece of paper and handed it to Violetta to check size.  We decided maybe a bit bigger than the ‘true’ 1:6th scale.  I bought some steampunk watch gears from Ebay – if you get some pay attention to the weight you are getting for the price, some ads photos are quite misleading showing far more items than you actually get.

I used this image of a hand made steampunk (actually working camera!) made by Howard Boys - see article here

I finally put my pc on my desk and have unpacked most of my sewing things, or at least have all the boxes with sewing things in the ‘craft room’.  Strangely enough the room has an exterior door which leads on to the verandah and a tiny kitchenette built in to one corner, so for the messier crafts I dabble in (mosaics, polymer clay, painting…) this is quite convenient.  I will take more photos when I find my camera(?)

At the moment and in the forseeable future, we will have to be satisfied with photos taken by my phone (though having said that it does have more Megapixels than my camera).  I was thinking about buying a new camera anyway, so maybe the fact that it is currently misplaced is fortuitous? (update: I actually found, well the Boy found the camera- does this mean I still need a new one?)

My need desire for a new camera, was mostly so I could take more exciting photos of my Pullips of which you have been introduced to three.  I received a new one, who was actually my inspiration for buying them in the first place, for my Christmas present from my brother and his wife.  She is a Princess Anne Roman Holiday Pullip and is styled after Audrey Hepburn in the movie Roman Holiday.  Her box has not even been opened yet!  But I really can’t wait!

Pullip Princess Anne Roman Holiday

Most people seem to do a wrap up of the year in projects and a preview of what’s to come, I intend doing just that, but in another post. Oh… and that leads me to the fact that in 2 posts time it will be my 100th post in this inception of my blog, so yes… I will be having a giveaway!  I am thinking about some stash fabric and maybe other bits and pieces. So stay tuned to hear more about that.

While I was away in la la land… here are some beautiful blocks I received from partners in my Block Swap Adventure – adventures.

October

For October both Margaret and I were running late, but we kept each other up to date with our progress and I also got a cute Christmas pattern along with my block, Thanks so much Margaret!

October Block Received from Margaret

I have put the block I sent Margaret on my swaps page, but I don’t think I shared it with you yet, so here it is. I have decided that I will be changing my requested block in Block Swap Adventure and I really like this one, it is this Antique Tile from Marcia Hohn’s Quilters’ Cache.

October Block "Antique Tile" sent to Margaret in WA

November

In November, I was lucky enough to be paired with Pam from Philadelphia, who sent me two blocks! Thank you so much Pam, I love them!

November Block 1 Received from Pam in Philadelphia

November Block 2 Received from Pam in Philadelphia

Here is the Monkey Wrench I sent to Pam.

November Monkey Wrench Block Sent to Pam in PA

 December – Natasha and I are negotiating, aren’t we Natasha?

January

My January block partner, who is still unfortunately waiting for her block, but I am doing it this week! Is Jodi from CO. I am in awe of her block… you should see the seams? Unfortunately my attempts to take a photo of them don’t do her neat and tidy seams justice.  But you can see my beautiful block instead! Thanks Jodi!

January Block from Jodi in CO

So I’m eagerly back… and itching to stitch.  I did stitch up a little something on Sunday when I unpacked my sewing machine, but I will only be able to post about it once it goes to its right place!

Good night Stitchers Whereever you are!