The true value of handmade

I went op-shopping yesterday, just to one store that had been recommended to me, the Anglicare Shop in Summer Hill. This is basically the depot where all clothing donations get taken before being sorted and distributed to other shops. As such it is literally just bins of clothes that you need to dig through, so it is really cheap, $6 for a kg of clothes. There is also a store there, but this seems a little pricy to me. I found a few bits and pieces, a couple of simple dresses, scarves and a shirt (which is ugly but I liked the fabric so will see what I can make of it). But then I found this.

Now, I do not have children, and I am not even sure if I will ever have children but this caught my eye. For one this is one of my favourite colours, and secondly the styling of it is adorable. So, I hmm'd and haa'd and eventually put it back thinking I should leave it for someone who has a daughter. Then I thought about it some more, because I am pretty sure that this little dress was handmade. Beautifully handmade I might add, but the lack of even a hint of a label, and just how much work has gone into it leds me to believe that someone put a lot of time and effort into this dress. And that made me unspeakably sad. That this beautiful dress was made for someone, someone poured love into every seam, pictured a little girl wearing it, and now it is at the bottom of a bin of clothes, most of which came from Target anyway. Then, I felt like a hypocrite, as I am lucky enough to have friends and family who all make things, and when I think of all the things I have got rid of, that someone made especially for me, I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. So, I brought the dress, for about 50c, and decided that I will show it the care no one else deemed it worthy of. Who knows, maybe one day I will have a little girl to wear it, or it will make a lovely gift for someone who will appreciate it. I don't know what I will do with it, but it will not be sitting at the bottom of a bin. I have the feeling that whoever made it had hoped that it might become a family heirloom, so I hope that I will do the best by this dress, and maybe make up a little for the lack of care I have shown all the beautiful things others have made me. Because, now that I am making my own things again, I know that something handmade is so much more valuable then simply the fabric it was made from.

Sping time skirt

This skirt was inspired by the fabric, I found it at Tessuti, and I loved the spring time feel of it. I guess it was a nice antidote to winter? I used McCalls 5591, which was a really simple pattern to follow. I made the skirt A version, without the contrasting fabric. Excitingly this was the first time I have ever made pockets, and it turns out they are actually pretty easy! I was very proud of myself and my poor husband had to listen to me stating over and over again, I made pockets!

Pockets!!

There really isn't to much to discuss with this skirt, I think it is a really flattering style, and while looks a bit complicated with the pleats and pockets it is actually pretty easy to sew up and really does not take too long. My only gripe is, after making it I saw someone selling a similar version in the same fabric at a market here is Sydney, but it was just a simple aline skirt, with out any detail. But still, someone out there has something very similar, grrrrr.

Also on a side note, it is very difficult to do a full length self portrait! I even have a remote and it is still tricky so please excuse the poor photos!

Today I am off op-shopping and hoping for some exciting finds, so wish me luck!

My Creative Space...

involves a little bit of this:

And a hell of a lot of this:

The crochet pattern comes from here and in theory is nearly done but does not seem nearly big enough so I think I have to unravel and add more rows. Always annoying I find.

The elephant is part of 1000 photos from Africa that I need to edit, (the joys of shooting in raw) but in doing so is bringing back some pretty amazing memories so is a pretty enjoyable way to spend the day.

Plenty more creative spaces here!

Refried Beans

Not much crafting going on today, although I have my last millinery class tonight so will hopefully be able to post some pictures of my creations soon. So today I thought I would share my recipe for refried beans, which are 1) delicious 2) better the next day so 3) the perfect meal to make when I will be out in the evening.

2 cans of drained kidney beans (for the record I have tried using dry beans but they are such a hassle to soak and cook)

1 can diced tomatos

2 cloves garlic

half and onion (diced finely)

half a cup of chicken stock

1 teaspoon of my super hot sweet chilli (see this post)

half a green pepper, diced

Salt and pepper

Fry the garlic and onion in a little olive oil until tender, add both cans of beans and the chicken stock and fry until heated through. Then using a potato masher, mash the beans until you get a somewhat goopy texture (you will be able to tell when to stop mashing). Next add the tomatos, chilli, green pepper, salt and pepper and stir through. Allow this to simmer uncovered for about half an hour or until most of the moisture has evaporated.

Have this with tacos, or nachos, or rice, or even on pizza (with tomatos, peppers, cheese and rocket- mmmm).

My Creative Space - White on White on White

Ohhh, my first ever creative space. Today I am making these beauties. Goodness knows what I am going to do with them but I am sure they will find a suitable home. Instructions via Portobella Pixie.

More Creative Spaces here.

Queen Anne Lace Scarf

After taking a small break from the crochet hook I recently picked them up again to attempt the Queen Anne Lace Scarf, which struck me as being the perfect Sydney winter scarf, not to big, not to flimsy, for those not to cold but not to hot days. I used this pattern, found via Ravelry. This was a really nice project to work on as you saw progress very very quickly, and it took less then a week, when I only spent about an hour a day working on it. I also felt like it would be a really nice piece for a beginner as you are using three distinct stitches (chain, double and treble - or for the Americans chain, single and double) over and over again so they really get cemented in your head. Rather annoyingly I forget to jot down the wool I used, but it is really soft and I love the colours. My only issue with it is that I think for this project it might be a little to thick (I think its a 10 ply) which means I have lost some of the detail of the stitches. But I would be happy to make this scarf again so, when I have finished the sixteen other projects in my head I think I will try it again with a much finer wool. By the way, I am reading way to many US blogs and keep wanting to refer to wool as yarn! Here are some shots of the detail, no photos of me wearing it yet though sorry!

The Great Sweet Chilli Sauce Disaster

So, I thought it would be a fine idea to try making my own sweet chilli sauce, ha! All was going well, it looked lovely, the consistency was good, the very first taste was lovely, and then a freakin' bomb went off in my mouth! Holy cow! And now of course I am kicking myself as I was thinking as I was cutting up the chillies that I should remove some of the seeds. However I wasn't sure if all the sugar was going to dilute the heat (or something) and didn't want to end up with an insipid sauce. So, note to everyone, the heat stays!!! You can see from this shot just how many seeds there are in the sauce, and this shot was taken after it had been blended.

I am currently trying to dilute it, but honestly I do not see that happening. Rather then wasting some preserving jars I might just make it again, and this time, LESS SEEDS!

By the way if anyone is interested the recipe I used is from Jo Seagar's book The Cook School Recipes.