Two Cheese Please

Weekend spoils

Mon, 02 May 2011 01:45:15 GMT

I love op shopping (thrift stores to those of you in the United States) and if there ever was a perfect op shopping day, it was Saturday just gone. I guess everyone else thought so too as my local oppy was packed!

Even still, I managed to come away with a few spoils...

Another vintage dinner plate for my growing collection, some knitting needles and a giant double-ended crochet hook, and a really pretty buttercup-yellow cup. I don't know what I'm going to do with the cup but I love this colour right now so it just had to come home with me!

The knitting needles definitely had a purpose - I've been wanting to try out a 1970s favourite - knitting needle bangles!

(I won't be making a tutorial since there are so many online already! Just google "how to knitting needle bangle" and you'll find tons!)
Basically you just pop these suckers in a pot of boiling water (make sure they're plastic - the metal crochet hook didn't do anything apart from getting burningly hot!) until they're soft and pliable then, WEARING GLOVES (I used winter woolies) grab a needle out with your tongs and wrap it around a jar with your gloved-hands until it cools down. If they come out too big or too small or too wonky, you can pop them back in the water until they soften again and have another go!

It was so much fun - and easy too! - I think I'll go back and get a few more colours.

So what did you all get up to on your weekend? What did you make, create, eat, watch, do?

edited to add: sadly the blue knitting needles didn't make it through the softening process! They just got really brittle and snapped - maybe they were too thin?

Some more stamps

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:17:48 GMT

Things are slowly ticking away down here. The weather is closing in and there's a definitely bite to the air now that means winter is on its way. We didn't really have a summer so I'm mourning the warm weather we never really got, but I have to admit I'm looking forward to cold days snuggled on the couch with my sweetie and some crochet.

Stamp carving is another craft I love doing cuddled up on a blanket in front of the TV (although I have to pay less attention to the TV than I'd like to, otherwise I inevitably end up cutting myself!) and I've managed to knock out a few stamp commissions in the past week.

If you would like your own custom hand carved stamp you can email me (restlesswillow at gmail dot com) or check out my etsy shop!

I'm hooking again.

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:57:49 GMT

You might remember my first, fleeting flirtatious attempt at crochet. It was a whirlwind affair that lasted maybe 5 days at most.

I did what I usually do, and jump straight into something new without slowing down to learn the basics. "But the basics are boring! I just want to make some really cool stuff." And because I didn't stop to learn the basics, I had no idea what I was doing and, being a perfectionist, I quickly became frustrated when I couldn't do it properly and I gave up.

Not this time!

This time I was determined, so I started again at the beginning with a project to teach me double crochet.

{photo taken with the Instagram app for iphone - love it!}

I've since frogged it ("frogged" - is that the right word?) because I didn't like how bulky it was, but now I know double crochet. Next - treble. And of course what better way to learn treble than the ubiquitous granny square!

I can safely say I'm addicted! Crochet is the perfect couch craft, and I'm finding it a great way to unwind while watching some tv after work. I know it will take a long time to crochet enough of these little squares to make a blanket (and I don't want to think of how many ends I will have to weave in!) but this time I want the romance to last.

And as if the world was telling me "Go for it!", I found this in one of my favourite op shop haunts. I'm not sure what purpose it originally had - maybe a magazine holder? Or firewood caddy maybe? - but now it's my new project holder.

Now, time for some couch crafting I think!

Square in a star

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:06:31 GMT

One blog I follow closely is Mrs McPorkchop's, and when I saw that she had started a quilting challenge with her friend I was inspired to start my own and I knew just who I wanted to challenge and inspire and encourage me.

Esther is one of my biggest craft idols. I love and admire everything she makes, because it comes from such a beautiful and genuine place in her - she truly creates.

Each month one of us will choose a quilt block style to attempt, and the other will choose a picture that we love, and that will become the palette for the colours we use in our quilt block. I feel I'm very restrained when it comes to sticking within my comfort-zone, so I'm hoping this will push me to try new ideas and combinations - and actually be more bold in my quilting!

In February (ahem, yes, I'm very late in posting this!) it was my turn to pick the colour palette photo and I choose a vintagey, voguey, dreamy, scootery photo.

(source)

And Essie picked a 'square in a star' block style for us to try (AND made a fantastic step-by-step tutorial for those who want to make their own!)

I picked this photo very deliberately, because of the bold, vibrant orange and aquas. I normally find myself drawn to more muted colours, and since this is partly an exercise in stretching my boundaries (as well as being just plain fun!) I thought I would try and introduce some colour to my repertoire.

What I love about this project is the way two people interpret a photo in two completely different (yet magic!) ways. It's 100% personal interpretation, and I think I'm more excited about seeing what Essie comes up with each month than making my own block!

Now... what I DON'T love about my interpretation... is the fabric I picked. It was also a pain to photograph with our overcast weather (can you believe that the "white" fabric is actually off-white/cream in real life!). It was a bit of a challenge for me, especially with my existing stash, but in hindsight I would have liked to have included richer tones, instead of just plain brights.

Well there is always next month! We've already picked our photo and our block style, so it's back to the sewing room for me!

For Sophie and Jon

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:28:15 GMT

Things are pretty busy over here at Chez Cheese, and I must admit I feel a little overwhelmed with everything that's going on and consequently not dealing too well with the stress! It's taken me a few weeks to "man up" and realise that putting my head in the sand won't make all the work go away; in fact it will only serve to increase my stress when I realise how late I've left everything!

That being said, there has been a little crafting going on as I slug away at commissions and try and relax in front of some TV with my new couch-craft - crochet.

More on the crochet later - for now, here are some of my latest stamp commissions.

A little monogram stamp made for S & J - Sophie and Jon. I really like how this turned out and I really should do more stamps inverse like this as I think it's a cute effect (and, let's face it, it's a lot easier than carving in relief!)

This one was such a challenge to carve as the text is around 12pt type! That's very tiny, and very fiddly, and I always worry that my text never comes out straight or neat, but I guess that is part of the handmade, hand-carved charm, no?

I quite like the little pile of packages and letters next to the address and am thinking maybe I should have this design available for commission in my shop - what do you think?

Sewing a rainbow

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 04:37:04 GMT

This was another project I was so glad to go back and revisit. I made my very first rainbow scarf way back in June... 2008! I still wear that rainbow scarf and love it just as much as the day I made it, and it gives me a funny feeling of nostalgia (mixed with a little embarrassment! ) to see all the wonky top-stitching. It's great to be able to see how much you've improved at something, but I'm not sure I entirely like having little wonky reminders around me!

So I was very happy when I received a request to make another rainbow scarf - this one even longer! My original scarf had 28 unique prints - this one has 43.. and then doubled for the repeat! That's a lot of strip piecing.

It's backed with some of my favourite super-soft black microfleece.... and some more patchwork as I was about 5 inches too short of fleece (which, I'm sure you can imagine, is in short supply down here in summer!)

Did I mention how loooooong this thing is? It's over 2 meters long! (2.5 yards long for those of you who still use the old measurements) I couldn't resist taking it for a twirl and I must say this is going to be hard to part with! I must have grown attached while I sewed strip after strip after strip of patchwork.

Isn't it funny how you become intertwined with your handmade creations, simply through the act of making them.

It always comes back to stamps.

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 03:00:31 GMT

I love making plushies, and I'm loving exploring needle felting, but no matter how far I stray it always comes back to stamp carving for me.

I've decided that this year I need to get back to my true love and spend some more time with my carving tools and some rubber. I'd like to say I want to make a proper go of refocussing Two Cheese Please... but with my day job and other commissions and current health issues (long story), I guess it's more of a "we'll see" New Year's Resolution. But I really want to try my hardest! We'll see :)

So here is my latest custom order - a logo stamp for Yesfia's House.

Once I'd decided I wanted to try and start making a proper go of focussing Two Cheese Please onto hand carved stamps (and occasionally plushies and needle felting), I thought I should update my packaging to something a little more professional and classy.

One of my favourite things about ordering from Etsy is that usually my little handmade purchases are wrapped so thoughtfully that when I receive them in the mail, it's like unwrapping a gift! So with that in mind I tried to work on some packaging that was a nice mix of the happiness of receiving a gift, as well as packaging that could do double duty as a stamp-storage solution - and this is what I came up with.

If anyone knows of a good supplier of these little recycled kraft cardboard boxes I'd love for you to share their details! Right now I'm buying them individually at retail price and that's going to get super expensive once I become a successful million-order stamp carving (ha ha I can be ambitious, right?!)

{In other news:}

♥ Only (a little over) 2 weeks until the date and I go on our big road trip to Sydney + Canberra! If anyone knows of any interesting sights to see (or craft shops to browse) please share!
♥ I have started my very first quilt! So far it's mostly just involved cutting tiny square after tiny square of fabric but I am loving the process of slowing down and concentrating and enjoying.
♥ I am down to 65kg! That means I have officially lost 30kg and am now a size 10! I will be celebrating with a massive day of op shopping soon to refit and refill my wardrobe, you can be sure of that!

6 sleeps!

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:17:13 GMT

There are only 6 sleeps left until Santa comes, so as I make the last push to finish everything up for my handmade Christmas, it's time for me to say "goodbye -- but see you soon!" to you all.

I will be back in 2011 with the usual post-Christmas handmade gift wrap-up, more craft, more stamps, more plushies, and hopefully a whole armful of tutorials to share!

{source}

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Chez Cheese - have a relaxing holiday season everyone, and I hope to see all your bright smiling faces here again soon!

Why I love antiquing.

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:55:10 GMT

(Can I call it antiquing? Or is that all a bit wanky wanky? Let's just go with vintage shopping, shall we!)

If you're a regular of this blog, you'll know I live in a great big old house which suits me just fine because my decor tastes run to the old fashioned anyway. A new favourite passtime of mine is 'vintage shopping', and last weekend I got to drive down to my favourite antique collective in Tyabb and browse to my heart's content. Sure, I was actually there to find a specific gift for Christmas (which I didn't manage, of course, because vintage shopping is a little like op/thrift shopping - you can get some great stuff but you have to be prepared to find things you want, not the thing you need, since it's 100% reliant on what people have happened to donate at the time!) but that didn't stop me from browsing for myself too.

This time I remembered to bring my camera along to share some of the great finds I loved, but couldn't afford to bring home.

Seeing these guys made me think of Jess from Teddy Bears Wednesday, and I would have loved to have been able to bring them all home, especially the first yellow one and the little brown wombat-looking guy in the smart orange jacket. I'm still so tempted to back and see if they're there - I'm just worried about how they would co-exist with the dogs who have trouble understanding which soft toys are theirs and which soft toys are No! Bad dogs! Don't touch!

How great is this chair?! I love it, even though I suspect it's been painted and 'roughed up' to look older than it is.

The obligatory well-sought-after kitchen cannisters. I really almost bought these, but I'm looking for a set (I don't mind piecing it together) in brighter colours. But still, it's so rare to see these with the words all intact!

Various vintage ephemera. This stall in the shed was my favourite by far. The lady who collates it has such great tastes (or maybe her tastes just perfectly match mine and that's why I was so drawn to everything!) and a fantastic eye for setting things up in her stall "just so".

More from the same lady's stall - see what I mean about her decorating talents?! I'll take the W and the bottle and the knocked up little wooden chair - yes all three, just as they are, just transplant them straight into my house just like that thank you very much!

One thing I love about shopping and browsing vintage, is that everything once belonged to someone else, and a lot of things still have people's initials on them. Like this cute briefcase. I wonder who CW was and what he did for a living, and what he would have carried around in this briefcase every day.

I found this one in the Tyabb Packing House, and I had to take a picture because really, how often do you see 7 foot tall wooden horses in your day to day travels?! If only I'd had a spare $7000 (ouch!) I would have found a way to fit this in my car somehow!

I need to make time to go back and scoop up this ladder. I want it to hang quilts off just like these gorgeous coffee sacks. I would have bought it on the weekend but it was too tall to fit in my car! I just love that it's a little bit beaten up from use, and it has some paint flecks and splotches on it from its past life as a painter's ladder. I love that little secret history.

So after all of that inspiration and loveliness, I only came home with a few things: a few bottles and vials to add to my growing collection, and a little jar of vintage thread spools. I know you can't use the thread because it's too weak from age, but I just love the colours and really, who can resist little wooden spools?!

The weekend, briefly (and a bit late)

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:42:02 GMT

My weekend was mostly full of working, which doesn't really make for a very interesting blog post, but luckily I managed to squeeze some unwind time in on sunny Sunday.

I'm trying my best to ignore the fact that Christmas is only 2 weeks (ok less than 2 weeks) away but I'm beginning to think that it's just going to keep advancing anyway. Sunday was an attempt to get a little Christmas shopping checked off the list, while sneakily slipping in a lovely bit of vintage shopping and then the rest of the day spent working in my ample yard in the sunshine, and admiring my twinkling Christmas lights.

{I really like these here and I was thinking of keeping them up all year 'round - I think they'll transition nicely outside of Christmas}

Some birthday sewing

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 23:43:34 GMT

It's mayhem here at Chez Cheese and I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth for a few weeks there - sorry about that!

It's one of our peak periods at the day job (airport bus) so I'm very busy driving all those lucky schmucks happy to start their Christmas holidays, and in my spare time I've been sleeping, exercising, and taking care of my big mountain cottage.

December and January are also big birthday months for me (and we've got Christmas to consider too - eek, only 3 weeks away now!) so I managed to squeeze in some quick birthday sewing for a very lovely friend of mine.

One of my all time favourite blogs is Pink Penguin, and I'd been wanting to try out her lunch bag tutorial for the longest time. Like all of her tutorials it really is an absolute breeze to sew. I changed a few things but that was definitely no reflection on the pattern or instructions! I made the bag a little bigger than the pattern, and I changed things about a bit so there is no 'rim' on the front of the bag, and the seam of the drawstring part is hidden in the lining+rim on the inside.

The monogram stencil idea (which I love, and consequently want to apply to every flat surface within reach) came from the TidyMom blog and it was a cinch! I love the doilies she used for her stencil, so I'm on the lookout for something a little fancier than the simple paper doilies we seem to be stuck with down here.

{Stenciling with doilies is popping up everywhere in the blogosphere lately! As I was typing this post (and browsing my google reader) I found this tutorial by One Pearl Button for stenciling on votive candle glasses with a doily and a sharpie - love!}

I'd fallen in love with this bag before I'd even finished it! I kind of wanted to keep it for myself, but I'd already gone and stenciled Steph's first initial on the bag so if I kept it I'd have to go and change my name, and that seemed like too much trouble.

So I'm thinking I definitely need one of these bags, too. I love that it's a deep-bottomed bucket bag so it stands up on its own, combined with a drawstring-bag top so you can hide all your bits and pieces from view - and stop everything rolling out if you're a bit of a clutz like me!

Saving Zelda... in comfort and style.

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:30:06 GMT

Some artists will make many works of art in their lifetime, but will never go back and make more than one of a piece. This is something I respect very much, as one-of-a-kind, unique artworks are such a treasure. I, however, almost relish the thought of going back and revisiting a piece (I say almost - because when you work on something for a second (or third!) time, you know in advance which bits are hard and exactly how painful those parts can be!)

{if you're curious to see the first two pair, you can see v1.0 here and v2.0 here.}

So I was delighted to be commissioned to make a third pair of Legend of Zelda slippers. Each time I've remade them I have improved in some small way, and I am very satisfied with this pair.

Are there still improvements to make? Probably. I don't think we are ever finished refining and improving ourselves and our work. That being said, I really do love how these turned out.

I found these genuine sheepskin soles a while ago and I've been waiting for an excuse to use them, and I must say - they are divine! The soles even have the sheepskin furry stuff on the inside, so I think they're going to be super comfy to wear inside, and durable enough to wear outside too!

{just a fyi - this is my hand in the slipper, not my foot! I'm all about the hygeine!}

And now for something different (A post on weight-loss)

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 22:13:14 GMT

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now as it's something I want to share, but I wasn't quite sure how. After all, this is a craft blog - how many of you would even want to read a post on dieting and weightloss?

But I get asked these questions a lot, and I've been wanting to make this blog a little more meaningful and personal so I thought I would be brave and finally write this post.

Some backstory:

Early 2009 I had hit a very low point in my life. I was in a bad relationship and was suffering from chronic depression, and my weight had ballooned out of control. By out of control I mean... (deep breath here) around 95kg/209lb. Ouch! I was drastically unhappy with a lot of things, but one of the big things was definitely my weight.

It was when I realised that size 16-18 clothes were no longer starting to fit comfortably that I realised something had to change. Thankfully however, I had reached a place in my life that I continue to foster, and that is - if you're unhappy with something that is within your power to change, change it !

And so I did.

{The technical details: I started with a low-carb diet - Tony Ferguson's. This worked really well for me while I was in the zone and I found it really easy to stick to, but it's definitely not long-term. Eventually my carb cravings increased and increased and I knew it was time for a change. These days, as I still have around 10kg to lose, I am on Weight Watchers which I feel is a much more balanced, long-term, re-educating-bad-habits style of diet.}

How I did it:

Sadly, there is no quick or easy fix, no magic cure, no "wonder diet". Losing weight is really as simple as

Eating heathily
Eating smaller portions
Getting off your arse

That's all there is to it, really.

How I really did it - some advice I learned the hard way:

Pick a diet/eating plan that works for you.

I started on a low-carb diet, but that won't work for everyone (and it definitely wouldn't work for me now! I couldn't go back to no carbs!). I also tried counting calories and quickly found that wasn't for me - so I kept going until I found a plan that worked for me.
A diet/eating plan has to be something you feel comfortable with, something that still leaves you with enough energy to get through your day, something that that doesn't make you feel constantly starving, or you won't stick with it - and it's very important that you're able to stick with it as a diet isn't a quick fix, it's all about the long-term lifestyle change.

Realise that a diet is a long-term lifestyle change.

A diet isn't about dropping 2 kilos so you can fit into that dress for that upcoming event (well sometimes it is, but if you get as heavy as I was you have a little more than 2 kilos to loose!). A diet is about a complete lifestyle overhaul. It's about living healthily, being heathy - both in body and in mind. However long it happens to take to reach that goal. It's really important that you're able to get to this stage of thinking before you start on any diet, as it will help you stick to it for the long-term. Because we are talking a long-term, permanent lifestyle change, it's important to remember...

Don't sweat the slip-ups!

So you had a bad day at work/home and you cracked and chowed down half a packet of pizza shapes/cheez-its. Or you're on your way home and you're tired and hungry and you find yourself in the drive-thru line at McDonalds like a junk-food zombie and before you know it your face is covered in incriminating sesame seeds. You realise how many crap calories you've just pumped into your body, and the guilt takes over. If you've ever tried to diet before, I'm sure this scenario is a familiar one. Well I'm here to tell you.... so what!
Yes, if we were all superhuman we would be able to flick a switch in our brains and go from binging on junk food to suddenly loving salads. But we're not superhuman. It takes work - a lot of work! Sometimes we sail through the day munching on apples and a grilled chicken salad. Sometimes it's not that easy and we slip-up. And I'm here to tell you - that's fine. Just realise why you've slipped up, so you can recognised the triggers (tiredness/emotional eating/cravings/etc) and hopefully avoid the same result next time.
But even though you've eaten far too many calories/fats/whatever, don't start down the spiral of guilt. So you may not lose weight this week. You may even gain a little. But you can lose it again the next week, and the week after that, because after all you're doing this for the long-term, right? It's not a sprint, it's not a race, it's about making yourself healthy, and that means re-educating your eating habits, your emotions, your mind, and your body. There will be slip-ups but the important thing to remember is just to pick yourself up, and try again.

It's ok to treat yourself

I know I keep saying it, but a diet is a lifestyle change, and it's a long-term change. I think that it's just important to recognise proper cravings as it is to recognise binging/emotional eating traps. If you've been really craving a mars bar for a week then I'm pretty sure you would really love to eat a mars bar - so do it. Who wants to live until 102 and be super skinny but you've not eaten cake for the last 70 years? Not me! Recognise proper cravings and treat yourself every now and then. Have a piece of cake at a friends birthday - but do it the smart way. Have a thin slice. Have junk food if you're really, really, really craving it but again, do it the smart way - choose a healthier option like Nandos or Oportos instead of a grease-laden KFC bucket of chicken.

Don't fall into the "all or nothing" trap.

It's very common for people to rush into big changes with an "all or nothing" mentality, and that's not going to help you achieve results for the long-term - unless you're one of those lucky bastards who happens to be fine with going cold turkey!
When starting a diet, you don't have to go from eating take-away once a day to eating a salad for every meal. Chances are that's going to be a change you're going to find extremely hard to stick to. Take it slow, step it down. Instead of having take away once a day, have it once/twice a week (for example). The same goes with exercise. Don't decide you're going to get fit, put on your joggers, and then try and go for a 10km run. You will probably end up on the side of the road in a pool of your own sweat, having a thoroughly bad experience that will make it hard for you to ever summon the courage to go exercising again. Don't go from zero to full-blast - step it up and you'll arrive at your destination in a stable manner, instead of crashing and burning like a meteorite.
Another "all or nothing" trap to avoid, is the "well I slipped up and had KFC for lunch and that's totally blown it. Screw it, I'm just going to shove whatever I can get my hands on at my face". Yes, if you are counting points/calories/carbs thenhaving a slip up like KFC (or a packet of chocolate biscuits.. or two packets.. or three packets..) will blow your daily 'allowance'. But just because this has happened, don't fall back into your old habits of "well I've already ruined it, so I might as well keep going". Have something nice and fresh and healthy for dinner, recognise that you're not a superhero so slip-ups will happen, and then start tomorrow as a fresh day and continue kicking arse on your journey.

You don't have to join a gym in order to get some exercise.

This is another common "all or nothing" trap, especially for women who already try and cram too much into their day! You don't have to join a gym in order to exercise. You also don't have to have a half hour/hour block of time free in order to exercise.
People much smarter than me say that you should do 30 minutes of medium-intensity exercise (meaning you're able to hold a conversation - just) exercise a day, or 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise (meaning you're panting too much you can't really converse properly) a day. But if you can't manage a 20/30 minute block of time free, then don't fall into the "all or nothing" trap - do what you can. Studies even show that breaking your exercise up into (for example) 10 minute blocks is actually better than going to the gym and killing yourself for an hour, then coming home and falling on the couch exhausted. This is because doing light, continuous exercise throughout the day keeps your body and metabolism moving the entire day.

Trick yourself into excercising throughout the day.

I'm sorry, but I'm never going to actually enjoy exercising. If there's a choice between sitting on the couch watching some great tv and doing some hand stitching - or - bruising my ass on an exercise bike for 45 minutes - guess which one I'm going to pick. It's a no brainer. Luckily (or maybe sadly!) I am easily able to trick myself into excercising. The dieticians/exercise people call it 'incidental exercise' - I call it 'accidental exercise' - cause if I realised I was going to be exercising, I would have stayed at home!
Some great ways to get exercise into your day are:

Park your car at the back of the parking lot and walk - there's 5 minutes exercise on the way into the store, and 5 minutes exercise on the way out. You're a third of your way to your recommended daily exercise already!
Ditch the trolley/cart and carry your groceries to the car by hand. (Clearly this only works if you're doing a light shop, but you get the idea!)
Get some music pumping and tackle those household chores - and do them more often! Housework a great work out and your house will look great - scrubbing/mopping/vaccuuming the floor is a great work out.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walk up escalators instead of letting it do all the work for you.
Go and talk with your colleagues at work face-to-face instead of sending inter-office emails or telephonining them.
Walk the dog - he'll love it, you'll get fit, and the sunlight will lift your mood and help keep you motivated.
Instead of meeting friends for coffee and sitting at a café, grab your coffees and chat while you go for a walk.
Get out and play with your kids.
Have more sex! Sex is a fantastic cardio workout and really, I shouldn't have to mention the other benefits! Ladies, take charge and get on top for a change and work those muscles!

Surround yourself with positive people, and ditch the enablers.

One of the things I found most hard while dieting were the enablers. "Would you like a biscuit with your tea?" Oh no thanks, I'm trying to watch what I eat. "But they're really nice! Go on, just one won't hurt you..." If you're already struggling with motivation, this kind of thing is going to have you crumbling faster than that biscuit in your mouth. This scenario is especially hard to avoid in an office setting, or at family events where it seems like love is intricately tied to cooking for someone. It's hard, but try and stay strong in the face of "just one won't hurt.." enablers. It helps to surround yourself with positive people who understand that you're trying to make a long-term healthy lifestyle change, and want to support you on your journey.

Reward your successes with non-food treats.

Don't reward your 5kg weightloss with a block of chocolate - reward yourself with some new, skinnier clothes. We get so used to comforting and rewarding ourselves with food, it's important to re-educate yourself that non-food treats are just as fun. Go for a pampering massage, buy some new clothes for the new smaller you, paint your nails, see a movie, buy yourself a really big bunch of flowers and walk around the store feeling smug and content.

Never ever ever give up.

It's going to be a hard, hard journey full of cravings, tough days, weight plateaus, and binges. You're going to struggle, and (especially at the start) your body is going to fight you every step of the way. You'll reach several points where the cravings seem so extreme, but it's important to push past these barriers. Just think of it like smashing through brick walls that are in your way, and each time you break through one you come out the other side even stronger.
Remember: all those people we admire for being successful aren't born with anything we weren't. The reason they've achieved success is because they picked themselves up and kept going, where other people would have given up.

My journey now:

Well thank you for reading down this far! I hope that some of this has been an interesting read for you, if nothing else. I hope some of it has even been motivating for you! I would love it if some of this could even help you, because I've received some fantastic support along my journey when I struggled and faltered (and boy did I struggle!)
I'm happy to say I've gone from 95kg/209lb to 68kg/150lb and I feel fantastic. Sure, being skinnier is great, I won't lie. But more than that I feel healthy. I have energy, and I love being back in control again.
And if I (someone who's favourite food group is Fried, not Vegetable) can do it - so can you.

{flex those guns!}

The big reveal - my "Overly Ambitious Needle Felting Project"

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:22:32 GMT

If you're friends with me on Twitter or Facebook you'll know I've been ~~agonizing~~ working on this project for a while now. This is easily the most difficult, ambitious, and potentially crazy needle felting project I've ever attempted! And let me tell you - there were numerous stages where I wasn't sure whether it was going to turn out alright or whether I should just give up and quit while I was ahead (and while I retained at least some of my sanity!)

But I'm glad I kept going because it's all finished now and I am totally, utterly, completely in love with how it turned out.

I made this little mouse for a dear friend of mine. You know those friends who just get you? Essie is one of those friends. She just gets me. And more than that, she is a major crafting inspiration, so I knew I wanted to make something very special for her birthday.

I'd managed to find this little sugar bowl on my travels and the soft yellows and pinks made me think of her. How that thought evolved into "hey, I should needle felt a little sleeping mouse to put into the sugar bowl" beats me, but it was definitely an interesting journey!

Up until now I've pretty much just needle felted basic shapes. Mushrooms, bowls (birds nests), and some little grassy knolls in jars - nothing like this!

I tried to take photos along to way to kind of document my process, but often I got too excited to stop and grab the camera, so there are a few major jumps in progress - sorry!

1. Using scrap roving to make a base (hence all the weird colours!)

2. Adding his leg and foot.

3. Adding the top coat of merino (super soft wool) after turning the base into more of a 3D sculpture (adding thighs, shoulders, cheeks, etc).

4. Further work on the features and ear, and deciding his foot was too fat and long so I shaved it back.

5. Almost finished - nearly forgot his whiskers!

I think the most exciting stages were when I began to shape him from a blob into something more recognisable, something with character (stage 1 up there, when he got a little nose instead of just being a head blob and a body blob. And somewhere inbetween stage 2 & 3 where I gave him thighs, cheeks and shoulders - and saw him properly taking shape and got too excited to stop for photos - and sleep!)

This little fella was so hard to give away! I guess I became kind of attached during the hours we "spent" together.

I know he'll have a great home with Esther - and who knows, maybe now I have room in my house for a mouse of my own!

Pincushions swapped & received.

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:47:23 GMT

I'm very late posting this - it's so hard to find the time to do the little things sometimes.

After the big effort you put into making something (especially for someone else!), little things like taking photos, editing photos, uploading photos, and blogging often get pushed to the wayside. Especially if the creative bug bites again!

But I really want to show off what I scored in the mail from Ellie's (of Red Seed Studio fame) pincushion swap.

I was spoilt by Kathy who sent me not one, but TWO cute pincushions! I am severely lacking in the pincushion department so these two will be put to great use in my craft room - one by the sewing machine and the other on my cutting table.

Thank you Kathy!

If you remember back to when I was planning my contribution for the pincushion swap, you'll recall I said I wanted to send 3 pincushions. Well (not surprisingly!) that turned out to be a little ambitious, so I hope my partner doesn't mind that these pincushions are more decorative than functional.

I know I'm biased, but I'm totally in love with this little felt world in a teacup.

The idea comes from Mimi K (of course!) and it was so fun to plan my little house and garden. The teacup is thrifted, and I tried to mimic the colours on the cup and saucer when making my 'little world'.

This was just so much fun to make! I'm a sucker for little details like the french knot 'flowers" on the shrubbery, and the fact that the shrubbery and tree are actually pins themselves!

I can't share who these pincushions now belong to (it's top secret, you understand) until my partner receives them. I hope she likes them!

Thanks Ellie for organising such a fun swap!

Dear Jane...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:30:13 GMT

Dear Jane,

I know we haven't made much progress in the past few months. Okay, okay, to be honest we haven't made any progress at all. Ever. And trust me, I do feel guilty that you're all packed away in a box but I've been so busy! But please believe me - I haven't forgotten about you!

My collection of 1930s repros is growing slowly, slowly, and soon I will have enough to make a proper start. Really, I don't know what I was thinking when I decided that you needed a unique print for every single block! That's a lot of blocks and a lot of unique prints! (225 to be exact!)

So, dear Jane, please accept this little fabric tribute until we can spend more time together.

All my love..

H xxo

My stitchgasms

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:37:48 GMT

If you've been hanging around the crafty side of the internet for a while, no doubt you've come across Mr X Stitch.

Mr X Stitch runs a blog famous (infamous?) for showcasing some quirky, subversive, and contemporary cross stitch and needlework. I've been a follower for a long time now (my favourite cross stitch of his is this one - rock out!) so you can imagine my excitement when I was the recipient of not one but TWO stitchgasms from the man himself!

I was lucky enough to have my terrariums and plushie NES featured.

Thank you for sending some love over to my corner of the web, Mr X Stitch!

{ I'll be having my very own stall at the November (and December!) Mulgrave Makers Market so I hope to see you there so I can show off all my new terrariums in person! }

Two little scarflettes

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 11:41:21 GMT

It was a friend's birthday this week, and I was on the lookout for the perfect present for her when I found this tutorial by Cheri from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar on Whipup.net.

Perfect! I can't knit, but I can op shop for cute jumpers and sew them up for a scarf-loving friend!

Half the fun when making these little scarflettes was to rummage through my stash of op shopped (thrift stores for you Americans!) jumpers to find the perfect knit.

This one was made from a super soft crimson-red cable knit jumper, and two buttons made from coconut shell of all things!

I found this sweet little grey cardigan a while ago and whilst the cardigan itself was a horrible shapeless design, I knew I would find a use for those two patterned panels down the front eventually! It sat in my stash until the other day when it finally found a new life as this soft grey scarflette.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:04:54 GMT

Before you scroll down any further you might want to hide your credit card.

Actually, now that I think about it, you might want just throw it away completely - if you don't have it anymore, then you can't spend with it, right?

And for good measure I would donate your piggy back, lock yourself out of your paypal account, and just forget about the change hiding down the back of your couch.

It's too late for me, dear readers. Nobody gave me this warning before I stumbled across this site. A site full of so many lovely, gorgeous, tantalising, and just plain cute bits and pieces. It's safe to say I'm a goner - but at least I've gone in style!

{ some of my faves }

{ the site, in case you were wondering, is none other than Mod Cloth. }

Don't say I didn't warn you...!

Being a busy busy (quilting) bee

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 11:06:27 GMT

This past week the weather has taken a dismal turn for the worst, so it hasn't taken much encouragement to hide in the safety of my craft room every chance I could! Happily this meant that I got quite a bit of sewing done!

Remember my "planned improvisation"? Well here is the result! I think it worked out very well, don't you?

Two wonky bento blocks in gorgeous sea glass colours for the lovely Sarah of By Needle and Thread.

I normally wouldn't work in these colours - not that I don't like them, but they're just not my "colour crush" right now (for the record - it's butter yellow that's wooing me these days!) But it was really good to stretch my limits and work with something I normally would not have.

She asked for wonky, improvised blocks - so I sketched and planned them out - complete with the "improvised" scrappy pieces!

I will actually be sad to see these ones go out the door but I know that they'll be a part of Sarah's wonky bento quilting bee quilt.

{ I like my polaroids, but I thought these photos were too lovely to crop! }

And these little pastel triangles are making their way overseas to Beth at Maddie and Me to become a part of what's going to be a truly lovely baby quilt. I can't wait to see it all finished!

Planning to improvise

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:23:49 GMT

I'm just dropping in tonight to say hi and let you know that there is crafting going on at Chez Cheese!

I love this big old country house of mine but it sure is a lot of work with just me here, especially with two busy dogs and a big yard to tend. I seem to be spending most of my time working and cleaning - and ten minutes stolen here or there to do some sewing.

Right now I'm just glad to be able to take advantage of this golden sunshine and do a little piecing - some wonky Bento Box quilt blocks for Sarah.

I am not very good at free-piecing or improvisational piecing or wonky piecing. I am a double-measurer, a planner, a lover of the slow, meticulous tasks. So I planned and measured and I "improvised" these wonky blocks by paper piecing them.

It worked!

Now hopefully we get another nice golden day sometime soon so I can take photos of the finished blocks.

My little house in the mountains

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 12:24:29 GMT

I've had a few comments on the picture with the lemon tree in my last post, especially asking if the house in the background is my house.

Well to answer -- yes, yes it is!

I'm renting it at the moment, but luckily I get along really well with the landlords - who happen to be my parents! My great-grandfather built this house with his own hands, and I love that I get to live here in a family home in the lush green mountains.

I thought I would show you a little more about my little mountain cottage - it'll be a little bit like a virtual house tour!

This house was built in 1922 by my great-grandpa with his very own hands! My great-grandparents lived here, my nan lived here - even both sets of aunts and uncles lived here for a while! I've been in love with this little mountain house since I was a kid, so it's kind of like a dream-come-true to be able to live here. I love the house and I love that it's such a big part of my family.

So welcome to my house, please come in and make yourself comfortable, and I'll put the kettle on.

These little letters used to live on my cubicle wall back when I was an office monkey. Now they've broken free with me and live on my antique kitchen buffet.

A little kitchen vignette on my kitchen mantlepiece (yes I have a mantlepiece in the kitchen as well!) above the stove. I love the little owl (op shopped) who guards over my dry goods.

The view from my craft room, watching a storm roll in. It's so nice to sew safe and dry indoors and watch the rain fall outside!

My loungeroom with the world's most comfiest couch with super soft cushions and, of course, a fireplace!

And finally, this is my rocking chair, which I am unashamedly in love with! As soon as I moved up here I had been on the lookout for the perfect old rocker and whilst I haven't found that perfect vintage find, I think this one is still really cute. It lives here by the little bay window so I can stitch and read in the sun. In summer I might even be tempted to lug it up the stairs so I can sit and rock on the balcony on those balmy summer nights.

{ since I've taken this photo my little rocking chair is now kept company by a handmade tram cushion from Mrs Beckinsale and a granny-square knee rug made by my own nana }

Hello, Spring!

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 11:09:25 GMT

Today was the first warm, sunny day we've had after an unusually long, cold winter and I think I speak for all of Melbourne when I say how lovely it was to feel the warm sun again!

I even got to wear a skirt (gasp!) and bust out my brand new shoes. I can tell these are going to get a lot of wear this coming summer! (Did you know my entire outfit was 100% op shopped? It's true! Skirt, shirt, cardigan - all except my cute new shoes)

In celebration of the nice warm weather I even made myself a crisp summer salad for dinner.

Hello, Spring. It's nice to see you again.

Une petite pincushion

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:26:16 GMT

I'm slowly wading my way through my long list of overdue swaps and commissions, which is proving difficult to do after 12 hour shifts at work and recovering from the nasty flu that everyone seems to be passing around right now!

So I was really glad to be able to tackle a nice quick, easy, instant-gratification project the other night.

I had signed up for Miss Ellie's pincushion swap so I've been collecting inspiration and pondering and musing about the perfect pincushion for my partner. (I think!) I've finally settled on three:

♥ One of these, because I've been just dying to have an excuse to make one (and you can too - Mimi sells patterns in her etsy store!)
♥ A more practical pincushion because, let's face it - the teacup mini world pincushions are stunning but not so practical.
♥ And a last minute decision to make an egg cup pincushion because I happened across the egg cup at an op shop, and then the fabric the same day and I'm not one to argue with serendipity!

I love it when a project comes together quickly and easily! I love this little eggcup pincushion - it's going to be hard to part with it!

{ The french word for pincushion is actually "pelote à épingles" but that makes for a wordy title so I took a little liberty with the French language - sorry! }

One fat cat

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:29:24 GMT

I've been putting off blogging because I haven't finished anything to show off on here - and then I realised recently that some of my favourite posts on other crafters' blogs are ones where they show what they're working on! I love sharing in their creativity and inspiration and I love the little personal insights we glean when people open up and share on their blogs. I really should try and do that more often.

In the meantime, I have actually managed to finally finish something from my massive pile of terribly overdue commissions and swaps.

A ~~(long)~~ while back, Mr. C commissioned me to make him a tubby cuddly little cat plush based off this picture:

(Yes that's the actual size! I'm not sure who the original artist is - sorry)

I am the first to admit I hate drafting patterns from scratch but it was actually really fun to design a pattern from this 2D picture, and play around with darts to get the perfect tubby pot-belly I'd envisioned in my head.

I was so pleased when he turned out just how I wanted -- and on the first try too!

There were a few challenges and firsts with this commission.

It was my first time using teddy bear pellets and I really love the weighted "hefty" feel it gave him. I got a big bag so I'll definitely be using them in future plushies!

The fatcat in the picture also had white eyes, but down here in Australia we can only get black safety eyes - so to solve this I painted the black eyes with a white enamel paint and sealed them thoroughly with a clear gloss. I love how they turned out and now I can't wait to try this technique on other things as well!

He's sitting on a trunk full of fabrics we found in my nana's garage. There's three of these trunks and I can't wait to go through them with my mother and listen to all the stories the fabrics hold! The light pink one on top there is left over from those little elastic-legged undies that go over babies' nappies!

(I just liked how his cute pot looked in this photo, hehe!)