Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Kelly

Another sneak peek!

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So, for those of you who haven’t heard of Gossamer Dreams
here is a little info to fill you in:

Gossamer Dreams is a collective of work at home mums who make!

Every month has a different theme and all items are made from the artist’s interpretation of that theme.

The online store is open once a month on the 15th (you can preview the night before) for 24 hours only.

Want to know more? You can sign up for the newsletter at the store. 

You can have a look at the blog here.

The Gossamer Dreams facebook page is here.

I’ll be back with even more sneaky peeks šŸ™‚

Gossamer Dreams

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How exciting, I can finally announce that I’m a guest artist for Gossamer Dreams this month, which might explain why things have been so quiet here! I’ve been putting a lot of time and planning into making items to fit the June theme (which is a secret, my lips are sealed!)

Although I can’t share the theme with you I can give you a sneaky peek of what I’ve been up to.

Don’t worry, there are plenty more so stay tuned in the coming days to get a peek at some more lovelies!

First foray into screen printing

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I’ve been interested in screen printing for ever so long and finally got myself organised to book into a workshop and head down to Ballarat today.
Laura from Learn 2 Screen-Print has recently relocated to Ballarat from Melbourne and has a great studio set up at her home. We started out by cutting some stencils to screen print onto cards.

Our next cut out stencils were printed onto fabric. Husband and I designed the pattern together. It’s hard to appreciate the deep red colour due to my night – time photos.
Another one printed on linen. Deep red on linen looks so delicious!
I’m thinking it would look great embellished with threads and beads.
My class mate Lisa chose to print this beautiful design and I was lucky enough to score one to take home šŸ™‚ Lisa is a very enthusiastic quilter and is just as excited as I am about the possibilities this art form offers.
I had a really great day and it’s so wonderful to learn new skills that relate to and build on what I already do.
Laura was a knowledgeable and relaxed teacher and I really feel confident enough to start screen printing at home on a small scale – can’t wait!

With my needle and thread treasury

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I made an Etsy treasury of embroidery art, including some wonderful Australian artists.

You can take a closer look here.

With my needle and thread

Embroidered brooches

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Can you tell Autumn inspires me?

Now that we’ve had a bit of rain everything looks washed and vibrant once again.

I loved making this brooch with beautiful crewel wool. The gorgeous mahogany brooch bezel is also handcrafted by a talented pair of Etsians. You can visit them here.
You can visit my shop too, while you’re there! This brooch is available for sale right now šŸ™‚

Warm colours

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The weather has turned wintery in Melbourne today and what a perfect time for the postman to bring good tidings with warm colours!

 All of these beautiful things were sent to me by Baukje as I was lucky enough to win her blog giveaway recently. There are some truly beautiful and very useful treasures in that parcel, thank you so much Baukje!

And another timely arrival on a day where I’ve largely been shut inside – my favourite embroidery magazine šŸ™‚

I spent some time warming my fingers by rolling a hank of Nell’s lovely wool into a ball in preparation for a little something.

I hope you find a happy craft to warm your fingers and your heart today. Until next time!

Working on….

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Another Ottobre 301 finished as the cooler weather continues to approach. Aren’t Crafty Mamas fabrics just so gorgeous?! (And for those of you who tell me you can’t sew with knits I say “Oh yes you can!!“

I’m loving the embroidery that I’ve been working on at night. It’s a printed vintage piece that my Mum in Law gave me years ago. The reason I didn’t start it earlier is because it was partially worked already (with very beautiful but old threads). I couldn’t decide what to do.

Initially I tried matching the existing threads, but being of vintage era there was no hope of an accurate match. So I regretfully made the decision to remove the old threads, which came out easily.

I have no regrets now, as the vibrant colours I’m now using are looking so gorgeous and the piece is a joy to stitch.
Today I’ve been working in the laundry (it’s not what you think!!) dyeing some fabrics which I’ll share when they’re ready.
I’m really excited to have ordered some rolls (yes, rolls!) of silk ribbon from the U.S. as well as some new silk paints, so I eagerly await that parcel, I have lots and lots of plans.
I hope you have had a wonderfully blessed week!

Knitting is not my forte!

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Wow, did I ever step outside my comfort zone when I decided to knit the Oriental Lily from Tikki.
My knitting capabilities have previously extended to dish cloths and a basic beanie and anything requiring a basic square! But I was determined I could do it.
I had multiple, multiple issues in knitting this – mistakes requiring me to start over, gaping holes, dropped stitches, my insufficient dye job that sticks out like a sore thumb……

But it’s finished, and my darling daughter “LOVES IT!” and finds the cotton so comfortable and doesn’t want to take it off. That part is good. Now I just have to get over the fact that it didn’t turn out perfect and be grateful for the massive learning experience it’s been. I also really enjoyed the process and am looking forward to knitting another Tikki pattern very soon.
I must say a great big thanks to all my Crafty Mamas friends who encouraged me to have a go and helped me sort out my various stuff ups. Also, thank you to the countless ladies who have taken the time to post videos on Youtube – without their help this project would be  shoved away somewhere, never to be completed!

Kefir

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                                                                                  My first kefir smoothies


Have you heard of kefir? I’ve read a lot about it over the years and wanted to try it so I ordered some freeze dried grains from Cheeselinks.  You heat your milk (unless it’s UHT) to 90 degrees, cool it to 25 and then add a tiny smidgeon of the grain. I poured it into my Easiyo container and left it in the Easiyo thermos thingy with a bit of warm water. Then refrigerate and presto, you have kefir ready.

The verdict :
Undecided. I didn’t expect the kefir to set so much (like homemade yogurt) and I didn’t like the taste on it’s own. I made a smoothie with 500ml of kefir, a handful of mixed berries from the freezer, some tinned peach and some honey. I added some low fat milk to thin it out too. To me it tasted ok but not great. None of the kids liked it. Husband liked it.

Next time I will :
Not leave it to ferment for so long to try and achieve a milder taste.
Use low fat milk, as I prefer the taste to full cream.
Make a smoothie with banana, which I think would suit better.
Check out other ways I can use kefir so I can incorporate it into our diet in a way that suits everyone.

In the future :
I’d love to try fresh grains, which seem quite different in preparation and perhaps would also differ in taste.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has tried or uses kefir (perhaps some of my U.S. friends, it seems to be popular there?)