the ace blogger list

I was having one of those days yesterday (you know the ones!), when out of the blue I had the most fabulous surprise. I followed a link and came across a list written by the inimitable Pip Lincolne, aka the queen of blogging, on the JustB site. She featured a list of favourite bloggers chosen by Pip and the other JustBers.

Not only is this list, called the Ace Blogger List, full of all the very acest bloggers around, all my very favourites (including lots and of Show & Tellers), but featured there on the list was my blog - flowerpress!

I'm still pinching myself to be included in such amazing company, this list (which appears again in the JustB summer flipbook), is such a testament to the strength of Australian Blogging. I'm very proud to be part of it, and to count many of the other ace bloggers amongst my friends.

In nice timing its my 5 year blogging and Etsy selling anniversary next week! (5 years! Amazing!)

I will be back posting tomorrow for 'my creative space', while I haven't managed to keep up with the instagram prompts this month I'm really enjoying seeing the beautiful photos people are posting tagged #amonthof #mycreativespace.

And don't forget to pop back tomorrow for my wonderful giveaway too!

happening

The weekend before last we celebrated a wonderful family wedding. It was great fun to get dressed up and party together, and great to celebrate the amazing story behind the bride and the groom's first meeting.

The wedding was held in a perfect spot looking back down Sydney Harbour, with a view to the city and the bridge. And the weather was beautiful, which is always a relief. It rained torrentially the day Mr F and I got married! Which is good luck they say, I hope so - it seems to be going well so far ;-)

Later in the week Halloween saw me hosting a group of trick or treating 11 year old devils, skeletons, monsters and ghouls. They were so excited and high on sugar. We don't usually have many lollies around so at Halloween I just let them go crazy and they love it.

Our neighbourhood is full of kids and so there were lots of houses on the Halloween route and I think its a great way for the neighbourhood to get together. Everyone was out on the street and it was great to see people getting into the spirit of this adopted tradition, even our lovely neighbour May, who is 93, had some packets made up specially for the kids, she loves to spoil them!

Speaking of treats I have a little surprise for you on Thursday! Be sure to come back because I'm hosting a fantastic Giveaway! I know you are going to really love the prizes donated by a local seller especially for my readers!

In between all the excitement I actually sat down and finished my little scrappy cushion. I backed it with my Red RickRack fabric and padded the patchwork slightly with a flannel backing. I was going to quilt it but I felt it was quite busy enough.

my creative space - numero dos

There are a few patterns in my stash that I've bought to make clothes with. I have the fabric for them too but something is stopping me from starting. I'm inclined to overthink projects sometimes, which is good in some ways, and not in others. Are you the same?

Anyway, so I thought I would warm up with another version (numero dos!) of the Barcelona skirt that I made back here. I thought that by sewing a pattern I'd made previously I would be ready to take on something more challenging! This simple black bitsy print is a large thrifted piece so I could afford to make mistakes.

Of course then after laying out the fabric and pattern, and despite recent organisation of all crafty stuffs, and labelling of drawers and boxes no less, do you think I could find the pattern instructions? No!! AAAgh. Despite searching everywhere they are nowhere to be found so in the end I had to wing it.

Which was probably good for my sewing skills because it made me think about each process. I had another false start when I cut the wrong size, but I had enough of this thrifted material to get around that and hadn't but the lining yet. Good news is that I'm happy with the size I made, which is often part of the battle as I never seem to conform to the measurements on the bag of the envelope.

Again I've used vintage sheet lining. I'm very happy with that. A hidden detail that puts a smile on my face each time I wear the skirts.

And despite resisting the lining the first time, I love the way it makes the skirt hang and fit, and makes this simple A line pattern a winner. Excuse the bad modelling shots, I'm not sure how everyone else manages them but mine are always a bit crap. But I do like to see things on so here they are! Here's a shot of my lovely vintage beads to distract.

More Creative Spaces, and less false starts I'm sure, over here.