"The Craft Group" plus...

For those of you (if there is anyone) who regularly checks out this blog... I am sorry for the short break but I am back. Where have I been? Let me tell you. Our kids are getting older and I didn't think we would all be holidaying much together anymore but no one wants to miss out on anything! So the 6 of us sat snuggly in the car and off we went. A 12 hour drive to Toowoomba, Queensland. Check out Mark's driving gloves.  From the deep dark archive called the glovebox, came his ancient gloves for long distance driving.  The kids of course laughed at him.  We went to Toowoomba for 3 reasons. 1) To see the relos! Many hours were spent with friends and family who popped in at Mark's sister Sandi and Rodney's house to sit, chat, laugh, relax and catch up. Their coffee machine received a good workout. They have fantastic ways of feeding a crowd. Casseroles in a few camp ovens outside. YUM! We also went to church with our famil...

You know you want to crochet. Admit it. Well, here is a scarf that the women who come to "The Craft Group" are going to make next term. Jen is teaching it and assures me it is cheap and easy... and of course very pretty. We just might be able to put the pattern here on the blog too for our cyber craft group members. Wait and see!

Here is a pattern you can buy from HERE I found them on the internet though I haven't bought the pattern or tried them yet. Aren't they cute?

Jennifer is a clever with a sewing machine. She surprised her daughter who turned 15 recently with this groovy bag. She had a few inspirations. One was a colourful jacket her daughter, Marika loves to wear. This bag picks up colours from the jacket perfectly. The other inspiration was the Bullseye quilt blocks the ladies at the Craft Group are making.    Jennifer calls it an "e-bag" because inside she has sewn all little pockets for her daughters phone and ipod.  A modern teenagers bag!

Next term we are teaching "Crochet 101" at The Craft Group. Here is clever Jen who has been crocheting in her sleep lately. Here is a top she whipped up, making it up as she went along. She bought a singlet tshirt and added the top trim on herself. (No, Jenni said she is not teaching this one in her class!) Here is a lovely rug. You can feel the quality in it. It is wool/cotton/lycra. Everyone needs a crocheted rug or two in the loungeroom for chilly, TV watching kids (and adults). She made this cross for a special teacher. She was going to put a little Easter egg inside and tie a ribbon around it to give this Easter. With some left over angora she made a cute little warm scarf.  Yes, I don't want to admit it but winter is coming!

I love it when someone makes something for the first time. Yay for Janine who finished her first crocheted rug! The rug and I went outside into the native Aussie bush for a photo shoot. She looks beautiful! Well done Janine. Don't you just love a good granny square? Just in time for the cooler weather.

"Happy Easter" What does that mean?

Have you planned out your Easter weekend yet? Sydney is having a parade and festival in the city on Sunday with the theme "Jesus is Risen"! Read all about it here! Have a great and Happy Easter to you and your family, from all of us at "The Craft Group"!

This is a great little gift idea.  Choose a tiny little picture, glue it under a glass bead and see your picture grow! You then attach it to a magnet which makes it easy to be displayed on your fridge. Last year when I went overseas for my family reunion, I made up 20 little gift packs for the relos. In the pack I included this little magnet featuring our family crest. (We all felt pretty patriotic!) Here's how to make them. You will need: * Bag of flat bottomed glass beads (I found mine at the Reject Shop). * Packet of round self adhesive magnets smaller than the base of the bead (Spotlight). * Glue that dries clear. Mine said it was suitable for gem work. (Spotlight) * Tiny round pictures to fit exactly on the magnet. If you print them off from your printer at home, they may not be waterproof, so first make a colour photocopy of it. STEP 1 - Cut the picture exactly the size of the magnet. My magnets had one self adhesive side, so we stuck the paper ...

Here's an idea for making a card with an extra dimension.  These cards are by Anne. To make them you need 3 of the same picture and some card. Stick 2 smaller cutouts of the main picture on card (to make it stronger). Glue them onto some open ended rectangular prisms. These will automatically fold flat when you close the card. Here is another design Anne made.  Its something different to do with that special paper tole paper you have in your stash. It gives a nice surprise to the receiver when opening the card. Who can resist a Hummel figurine paper tole card? Anne had a few of these too. Did you know...? A nun, Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel first sketched little drawings of children in the 1930s. An art company published them on postcards and then a porcelain maker started making them into little figurines in 1935. American soldiers in Germany bought them and sent them home to the US as gifts. There you are. A bit of Hummel history.