:: Just For Some Dancing Around....

:: My Place & Yours :: My Collection

Image via Mike GK

Yay! My Place & Yours has rolled around again (so fast!!!) This week's Theme Queen is Ms Kate from Fox's Lane. All bow to Queen Kate. Thank you! Here's what Kate says about her chosen theme, My Collection...

I want to see a photo or photos of what it is that you collect.
Then if you feel like it you could let us know what your collection rules are;
Does it have to be green? Does it have to be from another country? Does it have to be second hand or a gift? Does it have to be old or complete?...
What constitutes a collection for you? Is it more than three of the same thing? Is it rare things?
Is your collection ongoing or is it complete?
...what's your story?

So maybe you'd like to join in? For the first time. Or maybe you've played before (thanks!) Or maybe you were going to play but didn't get around to it? No matter! Try try try again! To play along just sign up below and post something before Saturday to suit this week's theme :: My Collection.





And who is the Theme Queen for NEXT week? Drum roll...NEXT WEEK'S Theme Queen is..... Little Suitcase! Hurrah! Toni is such a sweet and gorgeous gal. She has a lovely blog too. She'll post the new theme over there on Friday or Saturday. Pop back here on Saturday to join in! If you'd like to be in the running to be Theme Queen, just join in! The Queen is chosen from the previous week's players.

Below :: Just a few of the lovely 'Through My Front Doors' from last week.
Thanks to Shelley for a really ace theme! You are rad Shelley!






La Chica Mandita :: through her caravan's front door!
Checks and Spots :: yellow doors! yes!
Flossy P :: tropical turtley doors!

:: My Place & Yours :: Through My Front Door

My Place & Yours :: Through My Front Door....

Yes. The shop door is really our front door. We live out the back and we come and go through this lovely door on Brunswick Street. It's kind of weird sometimes, if you are in your daggy Sunday morning outfit and some hip people are peering in the window when you go out to get your papers. But really, it's a small price to pay for living on a great street only minutes walk from the city.

That's the shop when the door is closed up there too. It's dark and full to the brim with vintage bikes. You can hardly move around. In the morning when we open up, we have to try and get all the bikes out before the customers push their way in. They get tetchy if the bikes are inside. They can't see the things they want to see. But they don't like to wait for us to put the bikes out either. So it's a bit tricky and tetchy. And we can't leave them outside all night. People steal the wheels and seats from them. If you are at the door at opening time, do please wait for us to put the bikes out, so you can see the things you want to see, won't you?!

xx Pip

PS : This week's My Place and Yours coming up shortly :: thanks to Shelley for her 'Through My Front Door' theme! Stay tuned for Kate's theme for this week and some Through My Front Door highlights too!

:: Next Week :: A Week Of Hellos and Happy Things

1. TeePee Girl :: Christmas Embroidery, 2. Nearly Finished Crocheted Doyley, 3. Crocheted Coasters and Doyley :: Matchy Matchy, 4. Ari and Pip's Fox Embroidery, 5. Made A Florally Summer Throw..., 6. Max : Where The Wild Things Are : Christmas Stocking, 7. Making Granny Squares, 8. Dave's Blankie, 9. Cherry Brooch Prototypes, 10. Where the Wild Fings Are, 11. Gadget Cosy from a Vintage Napkin, 12. where the wild things are embroidery Max 2, 13. Home :: By Ari and Pip, 14. Faraway Tree Wallets :: Made By Us, 15. 003Max : Where The Wild Things Are : Christmas Stocking, 16. Where the Wild Fings Are

Yikes. Look at all the things I've made in the last few weeks. I've been feeling chock full of ideas and making stuff, I guess! It's so nice when things run this way. Way nicer than being tired and uninspired. Yep. I'm tired and inspired. That's way better, right?!

Do you know what? In four days it will be our 3 year Blog Anniversary! Wow! I can't even believe it. It feels like way less... and sometimes way more. It's such a nice thing to have a blog. It helps you to look back, look forward, be mindful, be thankful. It helps you to share and learn. It helps in so many ways, really. Mostly it helps you to connect with nice people. Like you. Yay for you!

I've decided that next week I'm going to see if everyone that reads will say hello. It will be a 'Week of Hellos and Happy Things'. I hope you can stop by some time during the week and leave your little hello! I hope you can! Apart from Hellos, there will be LOTS of Happy Things over here, because we like to keep it nice at Mike's, right?!

So, if you've ever read and liked this blog, now is the time to speak up and say hey! I know that there must be thousands of readers past and present... of course you won't all stop by, but how cool if even a few of you do! I'd love to know who you are! I'd really really love to know who pops in and has a nice time here! Have we shown you something, taught you something, made you giggle, helped you meet someone, lightened your load, changed your view, got you dancing, served you a great recipe? Please DO let us know! We would LOVE to know! So that's NEXT week. (Not now. Not this week!) Yay!

In the Happy Department, if you want to send me an email with some Happiness, feel free! Maybe we can include it in our week of celebrations. This is a good idea for people who have trouble commenting - just email us instead - with your Hellos or Happy Thing!

It all starts on Monday. When the Mike's blog turns THREE! Hurrah!!!

xx Pip

:: Christmas Embroidery :: TeePee Girl

more photos here


Hello! Look! I drew a TeePee Girl! I don't really like the usual Christmassy motifs, so I thought I would draw my own. She's completely and utterly influenced by/derivative of Figgjo's Lotte ceramics, artist Mariska Karasz's gorgeous, loopy stitching and my wig-wam friend Gemma Jones. I hope you like her! (Sorry her hands are a bit weird!) And Merry Christmas!

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Would you like to embroider your own TeePee Girl for Christmas? Well you can! Here's how::

Print out our design with your regular old printer :: here :: be sure to click 'all sizes' and 'original size'. The little details will be too hard to stitch if you print her smaller.
Trace it onto some calico - the calico should be large enough to leave a few extra inches on each side of the design :: we show you how to trace a design onto fabric here
Choose some embroidery floss in colours that you like :: we tell you more about using floss here
Put your fabric onto an embroidery hoop - choose a hoop large enough to display the whole design (as above) :: see how we do that here
Find a comfy seat, a needle and a pair of scissors and stitch away :: here's how to do that too!
When you are done, centre your design on the embroidery hoop. Then you can carefully cut the fabric to size (so you can't see it peeking out from behind the hoop) and pop on some ribbon or string for instant Christmas cuteness! Hurrah!

You could turn this into a cushion cover or a stocking or even a wall hanging if you prefer. Please only use this for gifts and not for selling. Merci!

xx Pip

:: Super Clever Emma Lamb...

, originally uploaded by emma lamb.

(Click the image to see more from Emma!)

:: What Have You Been Making?

I've been making this crocheted drink set :: those are coasters and a bit of a doyley there, in case you can't tell. I'll put the pattern for these up this week, if you like! It's really just a standard kind of round with a scalloppy edge. You might even be able to knock them up without my help, I reckon! Some of the yarn is from Yarn Barn and some of the yarn is from Ms Sarah London. She sent it to me when we started A Granny A Day. Isn't she nice?!

I've also been making projects for Frankie and a couple of other mags. Noice. Lucky me! And I made a really nice roast lamb dinner last night. And a chocolate cake on Saturday.

What have you been making? Or cooking? Or reading? Or digging in?

xx Pip

:: Pip and Ari do Papier Mache...

The new issue of online kid's magazine Papier Mache is out now! Have you seen it? (It's kind of like a kid's version of Frankie.) You will love it. You will also love that the poster by Fine Little Day that is featured. You will love the photo that Ari (my lovely 9 year old son) submitted. You will love the amazing kid's fashion and photography. And you will quite probably love the embroidery project that Ari and I came up with together too. That's it up there. Drawn by Mr Ari and interpreted vintage doyley and floss style by Ms Pip. You might like to embroider your own drawing. Papier Mache tells you how. Or you can embroider Ari's fox - print it over at Flickr. Big huge thanks to the people at PM for having Ari and me on board! Yay!

Now go over here and subscribe - it's totally free!

xx Pip

:: My Place & Yours :: Through The Front Door

Here we are and it's already Saturday! Yikes! Christmas is totally creeping up, I tell you! Now. This week's Theme Queen is Shelley from Femme de Montmartre. Hurrah for Shelley! She's chosen 'Through the Front Door' as this week's view. Can't wait to see yours! Here's what Shelley says::

Hello! If you're anything like me, regardless of how good a time you've had or where you've been, you love coming home. Am I right? Do you?! Sure, there's plenty of work to be done, not sure how much longer our kitchen floor will last, for example, but it's my sanctuary and the people I live with are superb little (and big) beings! So, my choice as honoured (and honourable?!!) Theme Queen for this week is - Through the Front Door. What is it you see when you enter your home? And how do you feel? Whatever happens when you walk through your front door, we want to know about it!

Sign up here if you'd like to play along :: you can post any day up until Saturday :: just pop your link in and we'll come visit you! You don't have to play every week, and don't worry if you put your link in and didn't get time to post on one of our previous weeks - it's okay, stuff happens, no biggie! Try again!

The weekly Theme Queen is chosen from the previous week's players. So you need to be in it to Queen it! Last week we all posted about 'My Secret Weapon'. My Bricole was the Theme Queen. Hurrah for her! Thanks for an ace theme! But remember this week's theme is 'Through the Front Door'.






NEXT WEEK'S Theme Queen is :: the awesome Kate from Fox's Lane! Another Hurrah! Kate gets to choose the theme for next Saturday's My Place & Yours. Check her blog late Friday or on Saturday to see what she chooses - or you can check back here on Saturday. Just a few highlights from last week :: Pepper Scraps Secret Weapon - a girl after my own geeky heart - click over there to see her ace post. And also...







Mugs at V is for Violet (top)
Costumes via Sandra Eterovic (middle)
Scissors at Drawn by Mouse (bottom)

:: Catherine Campbell :: Tonight! :: Off You GO!

click to enlarge

The lovely, pretty and extremely talented Catherine Campbell of My Folk Lover has invited us all to her opening tonight! Hurrah! Are you in Melbourne? You must come! Word is there will even be sips and snacks!

xx Pip