#makingblog

[online-tools-expert]

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[missleela83-blog]

My Make Nine 2018 for Tilly

Hello there! Hope you are having a lovely day. Last time we met I shared with you my Make Nine for Me for 2018. Today I’m back to share with you nine makes I have picked out to make for Matilda aka Tilly my daughter. It’s rather ambitious of me to in essence have 18 projects to try & make in one year, but I’ve never been one to make life easy for myself & setting outrageous goals just seems to be the way that I roll! And besides, my makes for Tilly are all small things so surely they won’t take too long, right?!

So here they are, my Make Nine for Tilly…

Amigurumi Duck by One & Two Company

Tilly loves ducks, in fact it was one of the first words I think she learnt, after Dad, Nan & Mum. She loves playing a 5 Little Ducks game I have on my phone, & for a long time declared that any bird she saw was a ‘Duck!’ I will be making this duck softie for her 2nd Birthday in May.

Chantilly Lace Sundress by Mon Petit Violon

When I was pregnant with Tilly & we found out we would be having a girl, I immediately hit Pinterest & Etsy saving all manner of gorgeous crochet dresses. Of course I never found the time to make any of them, so I knew I wanted to include a dress in my make nine for Tilly. I chose this one as I think it would be gorgeous in summer, but also good in the autumn to wear over tights & a t-shirt or long sleeve top.

Joy of Dance Leg Warmers by Salena Baca

I think leg warmers are just the coolest things & I think little girls & bubs look so sweet in them. Perfect for a bit of extra warmth over tights or leggings in Autumn/Winter.

La Vie en Rose Earflap Hat by Kirsten Holloway

I love this hat & think Tilly will look super cute in it. She looks good in just about any style hat. I love the combination of stitches in this pattern, & who could resist it with that giant pom pom on top!

Little Doily Bag by The Green Dragonfly

Girls with little bags to carry their treasures in, it’s the sweetest thing isn’t it? Tilly’s not quite at that stage yet but I’d love to make her a special bag from Mum.

The Adanya Warmer & The Braelyn Warmer by The Velvet Acorn

The Adayna

The Braelyn

Are these not the sweetest little girl head warmers/cowels! I love that they can be worn both ways, so versatile. It’s a great struggle to keep Tilly’s hair out of her face so a head warmer is perfect, so long as she keeps it on. I like the idea of a cowel rather than a scarf for Winter as less of a chance of strangling herself! I think I’ll make the Adayna out of cotton thread so it’s a bit cooler to wear in summer.

Motif Cardigan/Poncho by Patons

I bought this pattern book when pregnant with Tilly, I also bought the yarn & started to make the crochet squares, then I lost my making mojo big time until about half way through my second trimester & so never finished it. Tilly has a huge amount of lovely hand knit & crochet cardigans my mum has made her, so I have decided to use the square motif from the pattern & make a poncho with tassels instead.

Starlight Toddler Slippers by My Hobby is Crochet

When Tilly was a baby I had the hardest time keeping crochet booties on her feet & I’ve never been able to get her to keep slippers on either. I’m hoping I’ll have more success with these!

I have lots of other things I want to make for Tilly, toys, clothes etc. The first thing I make for her this year is actually not on this list, it will be this Amigurumi Lamb by Anatillea. I’m making this as an Easter present for Tilly. Then of course there’s Christmas makes & decoration makes for her room.

Oh if only there were more hours in the day, or if only I didn’t need to sleep!

Do you have a Make Nine for 2018? Tell me all about it, I’d love to see!

Happy Making.

Love,

Miss Leela x

[sapienticrem-blog]

Hey I need your help ! Please VOTE HERE. I'm also taking other muses recomendation by asks ( anon or not ) if anyone wants to see me play a muse in particular or is searching for some character to interact with ??? idk but HEK here I go again.

[shiva-us-blog1]

So, you have already decided to invest in a trailer and are ready to do anything to make it work. You definitely want to get maximum viewers to watch your

[livingmorocco-blog]

And this is me in the blue city taking fotos for you!!

[missleela83-blog]

Show Notes – Miss Leela Podcast Episode 4

Hello! Hope you are having a lovely day. Please find below show notes to my latest Podcast which you can find Here!

Magic Knot Bag

You can find the tutorial I used for the magic knot Here.

Scallops of the Sea Mandal Cushion – Crochet

Book: Mandala’s to Crochet by Haafner Linssen

Wool: Moda Vera Pure Wool 8 Ply, Colours 13 (Yellow), 08 (Ivory), 59 ( Pink)

Geometric Quilt

Inspired by Triangle Jitters Quilt Pattern by Suzy Quilts. Pattern can be purchased Here.

Wool Dying Experiments

I purchased the Ashford Niddy Noddy in the Standard & Sampler sizes from Aunty Jenny.

I bought the Synthrapol Wool wash from Silksational

I bought the Eucalan Wool Wash in Grapefruit from The Yarn Bar.

New Yarn Acquisitions

Jazzy Makes: 100% NZ Polworth Superwash, 4 Ply Fingering in colour Berry Sorbet

The House of Wool: 75% BFL/25% Nylon Sock Yarn in colour Primula/Rye/Tasman/Ivy

Christmas Present Goodies!

Project bag from Seaworthy Knots

Enamel pins from Ric Rac Sews

Books

On the Loom, A Modern Weaver’s Guide by Maryanne Moodie

Beetles, Bugs & Butterflies by Laly Lala

What I’m Reading

Project Calm & In the Moment

Daphne’s Diary

Breath. Whilst looking on the website I found the Breathe List Journal & ordered one for myself! 

Book: The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Podcasts & Vlogmas:

Brooklyn Knit Folk,  Loop & Bar,  Skein Studio,  By the Lakeside,  A Homespun House,  Makers Haven, Sew Sweet Violet, Little Tailoress 

Thanks for watching & reading, until next time Happy Making!

Miss Leela xo

[missleela83-blog]

An Introduction

Hello, welcome to my blog, a place where I plan to document & share with you my creative life. Thank you for finding your way to my little corner of the inter-world. I will be sharing with you my making, gardening, styling, adventures & explorations, as well as snippets of family life. So settle in with a nice cup of something & take a peek in to my creative world…

I thought I would start this blog with a bit of a ‘get to me’ post. I tried to cheat & did a google search on creative person questionnaires, but I couldn’t really find anything that wasn’t written in a deep psychological manner, so I guess I’ll make the questions up as I go!

Where do you call home?

I live in the beautiful Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia. I love living in the mountains & being close to the bush. We have such a stunning landscape up here. Even though I’ve lived here my whole life (30 something years), there is still so much of the Mountains that I’m yet to explore.

Who do you share you Creative Life with?

I share my life with my Husband Tim, our daughter Matilda (Tilly, 19months old) & our Fur Children, a cat called Tink & a miniature dachshund called Indie. We are really fortunate to have a lot of our family living close by, including both our parents who live just in the next town over (perfectly convenient for babysitting!).

What creative crafts do you pursue?

My main craft is patchwork & I particular enjoy English Paper Piecing. I enjoy doing a lot of miniature patchwork using this method. I also enjoy crochet. I have mostly been making amigurumi toys, with a few blanket projects here & there.

Of the crafts you do what is your favourite & why?

English Paper Piecing is defiantly my favourite. I have been sewing using this historic method since my early twenties. Once I started using ¼” hexagons my passion for creating miniature quilts was ignited! I love the slow, steady nature of hand sewing that EPP (English Paper Piecing) provides. I find it incredibly therapeutic, & I find I want to do nothing more than pick up my needle & thread at the end of a day’s work. I get major withdrawals if I go more than two days without hand sewing! I also love how portable EPP is, especially my miniature projects. They don’t take up much room & can easily be packed up & taken away on holidays, or just as easily be worked on sitting on the lounge watching TV.

What other crafts would you like to try?

I would really like to learn how to knit. My mum taught me ages ago & I made a very simple scarf, but I would love to knit myself some socks! I have been watching so many wonderful Knitting podcasts & seeing all the beautiful projects being made that I’m now desperate to join the Knitting Revolution!

There are more things I’d like to learn with Crochet, in particular I’d like to try Tunisian Crochet, & also garment making with Crochet. I’d also like to try weaving & I have started Yarn Dying & have plans to dye & print fabric also.

What other crafts have you tried, what was the first?

I think the first thing I ever learnt was how to Cross Stitch when I was in primary school. I also tried my hand at long-stitch, latch-hooking & Quilling as a young child. In my teen years I was mostly in to sketching & drawing & enjoyed working with chalk pastels. Aside from that I’ve dabbled in a bit of scrap booking but never really got in to, I prefer a more digital way to record photos & memories.

Who taught you your craft?

I learnt everything from my wonderfully talented & crafty mother. And I mean everything. She taught me how to cross stitch, use a sewing machine, everything she knows about patchwork I know about patchwork. She taught me how to crochet & has taught me once before how to knit, but I need some new lessons! When she isn’t around or available to answer my crafty questions, I turn to Google or YouTube tutorials to find the answers to my questions

Who are your Crafty Role Models?

Definitely my Mum! Not only has she taught me so much, but we love sharing our crafty endeavours with each other. We enjoy spending time making together, as well as going on crafty expeditions to quilt shows, patchwork & wool shops. My Dad is also creative in the field of photography & so I call on him for opinions on that & other things. You are always guarded to get an honest opinion from him, whether you agree with it or not!

Aside from my parents there are many women in the making world I look to as Role Models. Amy Butler is a big one & I have admired her work since I first discovered her when I was getting in to patchwork quilting. Recently I have found new Crafty Role Models in the likes of Jooles from Sew Sweet Violet, Sandra form Cherry Heart, Melody from B Mandarines, Danni from Little Bobbin Knits & Molly from A Homespun House. And really I could go on naming so many more!

Where do you get inspiration from?

I find inspiration from so many places. Of course there is the obvious Instagram, Pinterest & Podcasts, as well as books & magazines. But I also get a lot of inspiration from my surroundings & travels. Be it from my local bush surrounds, a trip to the coast or a trip out in the country. Being in these places not only inspires me but rejuvenates me. I also find inspiration from simple things such as flowers, going in to a craft or homewares shop, & also from fabrics & yarn.

Tell us about your Crafty Business.

My business Miss Leela Handmade took many years to get off the ground. I held myself back from launching it for so long from a lack of confidence & feeling like I wasn’t ready. I also wanted everything to be perfect from the get go, my branding, my products etc. Finally I got the courage up & decided I was ready. I opened my Etsy shop on the night of my First Wedding Anniversary, October 13, 2013, so now I get to celebrate two awesome things on that date!

In my shop I sell my miniature patchwork wall hangings, as well as patchwork quilts, crochet amigurumi & décor items. I also in recent years developed my own range of cut paper pieces for miniature patchwork & I sell packets of these in my shop.

In 2016 I took Miss Leela Handmade out of the studio & did my first ever market, the Etsy Made Local Blue Mountains Artisan Market. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience which I shared with my Best Friend Rachael who kindly helped me out on the day. I also took part in last year’s Etsy Made Local event, both as a stallholder & organiser. I did a few other markets last year, & whilst it’s lovely to meet people out at markets, it’s bloody hard work! This year I’m not planning on doing too many markets & instead will be focussing more on my online Etsy shop.

What are you Making/Creative Dreams?

My big number one creative dream is to move to the countryside on a big rural property, with a lovely Australian country house & enough space to build a large studio & run a Making Retreat, where guest can partake in all manner of different creative crafts & stay in glamped up Yurts.

Other making dreams include writing my own patterns for EPP, writing a book, & to develop my own range of fabrics & yarns.

Aside from craft, what other creative pursuits do you have?

I have worked as an interior designer for the past 12 years. This has led me in to pursuing styling & photography. In particular I love styling crafty bits & bobs, & handmade items. I do also enjoy a bit of home interior styling. Last year I tentatively launched my own Styling Business, Miss Leela Styling. I am currently building up my portfolio & nutting out what my particular styling/photography ‘style & technique” is.

When you’re not making, what else do you enjoy doing?

Reading, colouring in, working in the garden & watching a good movie or TV series. I enjoy spending time with Tim & Tilly, as well as catching up with Family & Friends. Going out & exploring new places is also something I like to do.

What are some of your favourite things?

Tea! I love tea, pretty much any flavour tea except for anything liquorice flavoured, chai or green tea. One of my most favourite simple pleasures is making myself a pot of tea in one of my china cups. Also chocolate! Basically I need this to survive. Rarely is there a day that goes by when I don’t eat chocolate!

I love homewares & soft furnishings. I also like to collect things. So far my collections extend to cut glass vases, china tea cups & saucers, owl figurines, fabric & yarn (of course!), vintage sewing baskets, & vases of all different shapes & makes.

Well I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about me. I would love to connect with you so please don’t be shy in leaving me a comment below, or connecting with me on Instagram or Facebook. I also have a Podcast which you can find on my YouTube Channel.

I hope to be back really soon with more from my Creative Making Life.

Miss Leela xo

[missleela83-blog]

March Reflections

Hello Lovelies. So, I’m more than a little late with my monthly review post for March. I don’t really have a good excuse for my tardiness to be honest. I can’t say I’ve been too busy to blog, that’s certainly not the case. I think every time I thought to myself ‘I must write a blog post’ I just didn’t really feel like it. I don’t want maintaining this blog to feel like a chore, so I waited until the time felt right. That time is on my lunch break at work while I struggle with a nasty cold.

March was the month for chocolate thanks to Easter. I am happy to say that my Mini Egg jar is full to the brim & I should have no trouble making it last until next Easter. How? I hear you ask. Well It’s stashed away in my studio where no-one else can find it & I only raid it when I’m working in there, which I’m sad to say isn’t as often as I’d like.

For Easter we went camping over the long weekend with our friends. We went to Windeyer which is out in the middle of no-where, about 30 minutes from Mudgee (NSW West Country). We went there last year as well. We had a great time, Matilda in particular had an absolute ball, running around & playing outside with the other kids. Unfortunately, she was sick with a nasty cold (the one I seem to now have) so the first night was a bit rough & we were just about ready to pack our bags & head home the next day. Fortunately though, she settled in to camping life & for the rest of the time she went to bed at night & slept right through to the morning with no problem.

It was a wonderfully relaxing time, sitting around the camp fire, having a yarn (of the verbal kind). We had an Easter Egg hunt Sunday Morning. Tilly was mildly more interested than last year (she couldn’t actually walk last year which made it difficult). This year she picked up the few eggs outside our tent & then spent the rest of the hunting time re-arranging her rather small loot! Still she was happy, & truth be told being so young she doesn’t need the copious amounts of chocolate to survive like her Mother does!

I did take some crochet with me, as well as a couple of books & magazines to read but I really didn’t get much of a chance to do any hooking or reading. Most of the time I just chilled out, watched Matilda, ran after Matilda when she decided to go exploring, & played with Matilda & the kids.

Much of the month of March I concentrated on my new branding & business plan for Miss Leela. I have put a lot of time in to getting my branding identity right & also making decisions on what I want my business to be & where I want to go with it. I’m really happy with the changes I’m going to make.

I have been keeping up with my Bullet Journal – mostly. I have added a few new pages to track my blog posting & podcasting as well as To-Do lists for my business. I am still enjoying it & like to flick back & see what I have & haven’t yet accomplished this year.

Making time has seen me concentrate mostly on sewing. I made a fair bit of progress on my Flowers Floor Quilt, but I have put it away for a little bit now.

I pulled out another unfinished project, the 4th Edition of my Garden of Patience Mini Quilt, made from ¼” hexies & all paper pieced. At the time of writing this I am nearly finished, just working on the last corner. I will do a whole post dedicated to this shortly.

I have been doing a bit of crochet lately. I started making Tilly an Amigurumi lamb for her Birthday in May & I have been working on a crochet ripple pram blanket for my Best Friends new Baby. I’m at panic stations a bit with that as she is due next week & it is still nowhere near bigger enough!

Speaking of my Best Friend, she had her baby shower at the start of the month & so I busied myself making some decorations. I made lots of lovely long paper garlands made from moon & star shapes in the colour scheme of her nursery. I almost thought I wasn’t going to make it to the shower as Tilly was sick with a Gastro Bug the day before. I planned to just go & set up all the decorations & flowers, but Tilly woke up perfectly fine & dandy & so I stayed for the whole shower making sure to not breath directly on anyone & risk passing the bug on (a bug I got exactly a week after Tilly, & then my husband got exactly a week after me).

For Rachael’s present I had my mum make a crochet cardigan out of yarn that I dyed. I also crocheted her a pear rattle toy & a Bunny Buddy toy.

Much of March was spent going through my stash & chucking heaps out for my De-Stash sale, which I wrote a detailed post about here. I’m still feeling good about what I’ve managed to cull out.

Well that’s pretty much all that March had install for me. A busy month of planning, looking ahead to the future & de-cluttering. I feel refreshed & ready to dive in full steam for the rest of the year.

Happy Making,

Miss Leela xo