Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Men's Ties, Sphagnum Moss & Twine !!

Wednesday Greetings dear friends & readers
Our little craft group met up again on Monday at Sharlaine's Home
At our last meeting Gail tipped out a bag of men's silk ties onto the table & we were all to choose one, create something with it, & bring it to our next meeting.
I chose the Christmas Tie below .  .  .

Upon arriving home .... I did wonder what on earth possessed me to choose this one !!

I thought I might try to make a small size Christmas bag from it so I unpicked the tie & tried to frame it somewhat using matching fabrics that I already had in my stash 


I think its fair to say that at this stage above, I still really had no idea what I was doing .... but I wanted to use the point of the tie as the bottom of my bag.
I used some co-ordinating fabrics to patchwork a back for the bag & then quilted this.
 I used the plain dark blue end of the tie as a handle - the bag is fully lined with calico

In the end I was pleased with how it came together ...... I attached a cute Nikki Tervo ceramic button that said 
"I 💝Xmas"
I thought this was an ideal size to use for a Christmas Gift Bag

I attached a tin bell to the very bottom point

The ladies had all made quite different items from their Ties ... Liz had made a turtle as her tie had tiny turtles printed all over the silk, Gail had made a cute Winnie the Pooh bunting & bear from hers, Joyce had fashioned a silk flower brooch & Sharlaine had framed hers in a hoop



Some of the ladies (excluding yours truly) had made some more velvet pumpkins following on from  
our last get together


I thought they were all really beautiful but I just LoVeD Sharlaine's sewing themed pumpkin below !!

For our meeting on Monday we had decided to have a go at Kokedama 

Kokedama is a style of Japanese bonsai, where a plant's root system is simply wrapped in sphagnum moss and bound with string, transforming it into a sculptural art form. Loosely translated, 'koke' means moss and 'dama' means ball.Mar 27, 2014

Sharlaine had tried this before but none of us other ladies had.
I have to say, I really really enjoyed it & shall definately be making more! 
As we all used differing thicknesses of twine the end results were all quite different but effective!

These are our first attempts above & this is my own little cutie below .... I am hoping to make a simple string hanger for it as they look wonderful suspended.


I had a good trip down to Mum's to celebrate her 89th birthday & then the following day I took her to the crematorium where my Dad's ashes are scattered in the Garden of Remembrance
Mum & I take either silk or fresh flowers each time & it is wonderful to see the plaque & flowers are left untouched each visit.

Upon my return I had some surprise mail arrive from * here *
I found Alice Caroline fabrics on Instagram & fell in love with their gorgeous Liberty selection 
so I ordered some fat 1/4's

I have had this pattern below for many years quite some time now & hope to make Miss Maggie up with a Liberty print dress & ears.


Though Taranaki was cold & stormy while there, I have certainly returned home to much lower temperatures.

I don't want to light the fire just yet so am making do with the heater but it's pretty much "first in, most warmest" !!


I purchased a couple of Op Shop treasures while away but will save those for another day as this is rather a photo heavy post.
I shall leave you with this little collage I put together last week.
I have Sid every Thursday & Miss Pippi has informed me she dislikes Thursdays! Though she Is allowed inside, she refuses to come in while Sid is here so this is what goes on all day long .... something of a Mexican Standoff!!

A Mexican standoff is a confrontation amongst two or more parties in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory.Wikipedia
Incidently in the top photos she is sitting in my flowering window basket!!
Thanks so much for stopping by today dear friends,
I hope the rest of the week goes well for you all
I shall try to get around & visit you all at your blogs as our internet has been rather contrary again!
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0x 

22 comments:

  1. Clever creator........you all made something so very different from the ties! I'm with you the sewing themed pumpkin, it gets my vote, very cool. I love the Kokedama's, I like your's sitting on a pretty plate. I suppose their bottoms get rather soggy? I look forward to seeing your sweet bunny made up. Sid doesn't look put out that Pippi is put out! Sure does look like a Mexican standoff :-)

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  2. Had to giggle at the Mexican standoff!! Miss Pippi is just waiting for the young interloper to go away from HER house!! And the young interloper looks very happy!! You did a great job creating the Xmas bag with the tie...the other ladies were very creative too. Good to hear you had a good visit with your Mum. Those plants are very cute, I did something similar with little orchids, but in a tube of sacking cloth. Yours looks so much nicer! I can see lots of those hanging from your front deck. Miss Maggie Rabbit is very cute, that fabric you have is beautiful!

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  3. Like everyone else Julie l'm amazed at each and
    every post you do...always something nice and
    wonderful..such as that tie, it's amazing the
    material in a tie when you unwind it, l'll
    have to send some of my dicky~bows..! :).

    And the Kokedama, the Japanese bonsai is
    amazing, looks quite rustic, that's something
    l must have a go at..!
    Pumpkins...Love the Pumpkins...! :).

    And, the furry ones are in the bestest place..
    HeHe! But l did love the photos of Miss Pippi
    and little Sid..I think that little Sid is
    holding the upper ground there...Miss Pippi
    looks a bit hard done by..Bless!x

    Well...Seven thirty over here, suns been up
    since six..nice few days coming up, about
    time to...another lemon tea me thinks, off
    to town a bit later on...!

    In the meantime...someone open the door for
    Miss Pippi..she might just come in...! You
    never know! :0).

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  4. Love your Christmas bag, such a great idea & use of a tie. The kokedemas look fabulous. Miss Pippi doesn't look impressed at all. Hugs, xx

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  5. Hi Julie love how you made the xmas bag with the tie and it was interesting seeing what the others ladies made with their ties,lovely post my friend xx

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  6. Hi ya Julie, love your tie Christmas bag, and what the other ladies made with theirs was simply amazing. I have decided to pack up my craft room, have given away a few things, and will just be keeping a couple of containers to make journals or scrapbook if I feel the need, which lately I haven't. Sid and Miss Pippi look so cute. Take care Julie. Chris xoxo

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  7. What a great and creative use of all the ties...clever ladies! Love the pumpkins too. A special time for you and your Mum. How cute are Sid and Pippa lol!

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  8. Your craft day is producing some rather lovely things!! Sid is adorable, poor Pipi!!!

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  9. Everything about your tie-turned-bag is so clever. That is a gift in and of itself!
    I have never heard of Kokedama before. They look very cute. How do you water them? Also, I was wondering if the tight root ball keeps the growth in check (oh, makes me think of the oriental practice of binding feet).
    Miss Maggie will be adorable in one of those sweet prints. I know you will give her a unique personality. :)
    Love the standoff photos. As long as everyone is entertained (well, almost everyone--the furry participant looks less than amused), and no one gets hurt, it is a good day.

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  10. Wow! I love your group.. all of you are super creative..

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  11. That is adorable with Sid and Miss Pippi. Our Coco is jealous of our great granddaughter also. Coco wants attention too when she is here. How creative you are to create that lovely bag from a tie!! That is funny with the two cats laying in front of the heater like that. I would think it would be too warm for them! Have a lovely evening! Nancy

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  12. What a lovely entertaining blog. Always full of beautiful things. What a creative group of friends you have Julie. The cats in front of the heater so delightful. Xxx

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  13. How funny that Pippi doesn't like kid days. Same here. Tim just tolerates it and if it goes on longer than he can stand, he'll lurk around the perimeter, dropping hints.
    You are so clever. You can make a silk purse from a sow's ear (isn't that the way that saying goes?)
    I've been sewing tops and pants. It's fun and I get so involved that I get behind with the upstairs stuff.
    Take care, sweet Julie.

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  14. What a great and creative use of all the ties...clever ladies! Love the pumpkins too. A special time for you and your Mum. How cute are Sid and Pippa lol!
    กำถั่ว

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment :-)

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  15. Lots of lovely eye candy in this post, and what beautiful pumpkins! Had to laugh about Sid and Pippi - when we went away for 3 days recently Blossom had Bob the dog and Cully May chased the little fellow around for 16 hours a day. On returning home to us dear Bob the dog slept for two days, stirring only to eat and pee. LOL!! They're coming for lunch on Sunday so we may give him a place to hide. ;-)

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  16. Replies
    1. Thank You Babs - I was really pleased with how it turned out in the end :-)

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  17. Hi Julie love how you made the xmas bag with the tie and it was interesting seeing what the others ladies made with their ties,lovely post my friend xx

    สมัคร D2BET

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    1. Thanks so much! Yes it was fun to see what the other ladies came up with!

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  18. Those colours are amazing in your fabrics and I love all the pictures of Sid. So beautiful to share Birthday time with your Mum, it's all so precious xx. Miss Pippi's face is priceless!

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