In line with my new-found productivity (having tidied the sewing room somewhat during the Christmas break) I present my first finished item: an Everyday Skirt (pattern by Liesl+co)
I cut out the pieces when I went away with friends in October. That weekend I made a skirt using size M which was a trifle big so cut out a size S for my next try. Unfortunately we ran out of time and then the end of the year happened and it didn't get done. Until yesterday!
The pattern is simple and instructions easy to follow. It didn't take me long to sew it together, even with the unpicking when I accidentally sewed the back piece on backwards.
The fabric is a cotton/spandex print I picked up from Spotlight. The pattern makes me think of windows in an abandoned warehouse. I went to a little bit of trouble to make sure the pockets matched up. Pretty happy with that minor detail.
Also, I have to say I love that this skirt had pockets and an elastic waist band. No zippers!
I wear my first skirt to work on a regular basis and can't wait to add this one to the rotation. I've got a few more of these skirts planned as well. A great addition to the wardrobe.
I spent a good chunk of the weekend knitting, trying to finish a cardigan for Elora. And then this morning I was sent the following... All I can say is "Wow!".
There was a sale. I couldn't resist. I bought a bucket load (or a very large bag, anyway) of 200g balls of wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills last month. Curse them and their discounts. (Still on sale until the end of November, by the way!)
It was wonderful seeing the package waiting for me on the door step after a treacherous drive home on a very stormy Sydney afternoon. I couldn't wait to rip it open.
"Ginormous balls of wool," Elora exclaimed when she saw them. Followed by "The pink ones are for me and the blue ones are for the boys."
Right she was. 5 colours for a blankie for Atti, 6 for her. "Luxury" 8ply 100% wool 200g balls For the boy: Leaf, Ice, Ghost, Lake, Junior Navy For the girl: Frost, Lavender, Purple Storm, Baby Pink, Ruby, Pink.
My intention is to make squares from my new book, 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans by Jan Eaton (bought from Better World Books - I highly recommend them) to make blankets for the two youngest kiddies. I feel a bit bad that I'm not making one for the biggest boy, but, he's nearing 10. He's not so keen on my hand made items anymore (except for Halloween costumes... more on that another day I hope).
Tragically, in my eagerness to open the packet, I got a bit overzealous with the scissors. Wah! I cut up my gigantic ball of wool! Well, a few strands.
We found out a couple of weeks ago that the Director of the boys' After School Care Program is leaving, after 8 years there! Dante was quite upset about it all, especially after not getting off to a good start with the new Director (during his hand over week)...
I wracked my brains for present ideas. Something safe like a Dymocks book voucher, perhaps? But I really wanted to hand make something for her. Because that's what I do... Decide to hand make something and leave it to the last minute. I think I thrive on the stress of it.
Then a new yarn shop opened up last week, not five minutes from work. I've been waiting for it for ages it seems, eagerly watching for signs of activity as we drive by every day. Of course I had to drop by on opening day. And to bring a shop luck you've got to buy something on its first day. Looking at all those beautiful balls of wool and cotton brought an idea to my mind. I'd knit Sarah a cowl. She lives in the Blue Mountains, land of ice weather and chill winds. Something nice for her to wear to keep her warm would work. I've seen her wearing scarves so I knew she'd like it.
I searched Ravelry (a really great knitting and crocheting resource, if you haven't heard of it) and found a great pattern, which I'd actually added to my queue a couple of years ago and never started (or finished). The Spiral Cowl (affectionately known as the "scowl" for some reason) knitted up quickly and easily (except for a major misread of the pattern by me. Oops!) and I managed to finish it with an entire hour to spare!
Photo taken in a hurry on a friend's iPhone under horrible work fluorescent lights. The colour is much deeper in real life (see next picture).
What I loved most was the picot edging. Never done it before, always being too scared of it. But, you know what? Easy! Not that complicated!
Can't wait to make one for myself now! More details here, on Ravelry.
I did it. On Saturday I decided to get stuck into making an Ice Cream Dress (or rather, the blouse) as part of the Ice Cream Social. And by dinner time I had it completed!
I just used some cheap poly-cotton fabrics I had lying around, since it was sort of a rushed job and a first try. I made size 3T for my 3½ year old.
I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Fairly professional looking as long as you don't look too closely at the stitching... I can't sew perfectly straight yet, and there were a few places where things didn't turn out quite right. Will have to ask the expert about it if I see her one day.
I chose a blue button for the closure. There was a little too much pink going on for my liking.
It fits the girl, just. A little tight around the arms, but she did have two layers on underneath. Should be alright in a couple of weeks' time when we head to Far North Queensland to visit family (and for a break - the tickets were cheap! I'll write more about that soon).
She wasn't in a very good mood when I asked her to try it on... this was the best picture I could get.
What a great cranky face! Don't want to cross this one!
I can't wait to make the full dress (View A) with pockets. This time a size 4. I might even get Elora to help me choose the main fabric. She might be happier to wear it then.
Today we were hoping to get out to the Biennale since tomorrow's the last day. But looking at the weather radar this morning:
I think that plan is out the window (the blue/white/yellow bits are rain). I went during the school holidays with Atti and Elora. On an iffy sort of day, weather-wise. Iffy until we got there, that is. And the skies opened up and we were miserable and wet, no, soaked, and Atti said "I don't want to go to Cockatoo Island ever again" when we got home. Not doing that again!
I only decided to participate at the last minute. Of course by then patterns had sold out. I finally got mine yesterday so I'm starting one day after the finish. D'oh! But that's okay. I've had plenty of time to admire all the work of everyone else and boy are there some prolific sewers (sewists? people who sew?) out there!
I'm thinking of just making View C for now - less work involved (no pockets) meaning it will get done more quickly.
It's school holidays this week and next week. I'm at work for a full day since the boys are at vacation care and I don't have to collect them until 5pm. (Well, actually I have to collect them before 5pm but I like to leave it as long as possible... I normally finish at 2:30pm on Wednesdays). They're at "art classes" as Atti calls it - vacation care at a Creative Arts centre. Atti went yesterday and made an incredible artwork. More on that another day when I can get a photo!
So since I've got a little bit of spare time I thought I'd participate in this thing out there in the craft blog world called WIP Wednesday (WIP = Work In Progress)... I'm not sure who/where the originator is, sorry.
Heh. My LIFE is a work in progress, but I guess you're more interested in something crafty*. Last post I mentioned a soft ripple blanket that I unsuccessfully started at a craft get-together. Finally I've managed to make some headway and even take some pictures.
It's very long, or wide, depending on how you look at it. I just measured it and it's roughly 5 feet long. Nearly as tall as me. I still haven't counted the number of stitches. I guess I could calculate it...
I also decided that it'll probably end up being used with the stripes running vertically instead of horizontally. Neat idea, huh? And if I'm ever so inclined I can always add to it. The beauty of crochet!
The basic pattern, if you wish to replicate:
1st row: Chain [multiple of 14] + 1
2nd row: 1 Double crochet in second chain from hook. 5DC in each of the next 5 chains. *[2DC in the following one chain (an increase - this is the "bump" in the ripple). 6DC in the each of the next 6 chains, skip one chain (a decrease - this is the "valley" in the ripple), 6 DC in each of the next 6 DCs]. Repeat from * until you get to the end of the row. 1DC in the remaining chain.
3rd row. Turn. Repeat the 2nd row, working into the FRONT of each DC only (only one piece of yarn on your hook, not two).
You'll find that your "bumps" will not line up vertically - they'll be offset by one stitch. I quite liked that idea. Makes it a softer curve - the peaks are not too sharp. You should be doing your double DC in the first, right-most of the doubles in the previous row. Does that make sense??
Have fun. Feel free to email me if you have any questions! Or find an error. I'm really just guessing at numbers... Eep!
* Not this sort of crafty, mind you. (A little bit unsafe for kids, this video. But hilarious and rude!)
Had a great day yesterday at the Craft Room Sunday gathering. Plenty of good company and food (and noise! Put 20-ish women together in one room and it sure does get loud) but not so much crafting from this sorry sod.
At first I was just happy to chat and meet new people, thinking that I had six hours of pure crafting time - there was no rush! But as you know, time flies when you're having fun (and eating delicious brownies and caramel slice and cupcakes and cookies and salad and sandwiches and quiche and muffins and drinking a bucket load of tea)... I didn't feel like working on WIPs (Works in Progress) so started a new project. 'Cause I do that.
Decided to start crocheting a soft ripple blanket for Elora's bed. No pattern. Just winging it. Made about a billion chains to begin with and started my rows. By this time it was well after lunch! I got three rows in before I realised that I'd made a mistake. Two zags when there should have been a zig and a zag. Ack! So I ripped it back to the starting row of chains and that was my day's work done. One row of chains. And lots of eating.
But still, I had fun. And the blankie bug is still biting. I continued it when I got home (continued? More like "started properly"!) and used up an entire ball of wool. This blanket's gonna be big. It will take me a long time. But I knew that when I started it.
Wow. The cake stall this morning was amazing. In all the years i've been doing this I have never seen it be so successful. I didn't really do much with this year's stall. It seemed that it was all organised well and I was glad to take a step back. I simply baked and ate and sold a few. The stall made nearly $900 in 3½ hours!
Afterwards I had a fairly pleasant day at work followed by a wonderful night meeting up with some crafty peeps. Does pulling apart some knitting that I'm unhappy with count as starting a new project??
The other day, perhaps it was last weekend - I couldn't be sure - Atticus grabbed an empty toilet roll, drew a face and requested arms and hair. I happily obliged. I love it when he gets creative and crafty. Elora, of course, quickly followed suit. And repeated it a few days later. (Hey, we have four toilets and five people in this house - we get a lot of empty toilet rolls!)
Their creations are great! Nifty! Neat!
But those eyes. The eyes Elora has drawn give me the creeps... Almost as much as this creation last month. The white clay face was made by Dante at school or aftercare. She added the weirdo baby dolls.
I had been so good all week. The Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair was on at Darling Harbour, always in my birthday week and such a huge temptation to spend heinous amounts of money. But I had resisted! Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... and then I started seeing people's blog posts about it. The bargains they got, the gorgeous quilts on display...
And I succumbed. It was a last minute decision. I would go. Today, Sunday, the last day of the fair.
I didn't end up leaving the house until after 2pm (erhem... somebody in this household who was going to mind the children slept in until 11am... then it was Dante's postponed piano lesson and lunch and so on...) and got to the fair by 3pm. No discount for last minute entry which I thought was a bit unfair (for a Fair, heh. Get it?)
But I did okay. I whizzed through the entire thing with five minutes to spare! I came in under budget by a third but still managed to get some nice stuff. I was totally inspired by some of the fantastic quilts on display but of course didn't take my camera with me (not that you're meant to take pictures).
My booty: Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Classic wool in Holly and Silver. The Holly seemed a little more pinky-red inside but is pretty plain red in real light. Great value 200g balls!
Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in colour "Vatican Pie". A delicious deep red that I am totally in love with and am itching to start knitting with. Too nice for socks, though!
And some fabric. This pack of fat quarters came to less than $3 per piece. That is a great price considering the going price was around $6-$7 each! Wowsers! I never said my hobbies were cheap :)
In the end, I'm glad I went. Going on my own on the closing afternoon was a great idea. There were "end of show" specials, very few crowds and being on my own meant I could fly through it and spend more time on the things I liked. Yay for an afternoon out!
I finished it in October when she was eight months old.
Now that winter's almost upon us and the weather has cooled, it's time to get the woollens out again. Lo and behold, Elora's cardigan still fits beautifully, all this time later. I have to say I'm very pleased! Now that's good value!
The weekend's planned trip to the Finders Keepers Markets was heartily disappointing. Not because the markets were no good, but because we didn't get to go. Even more disappointing because when I read someblogposts about it I hear that it was a terrific success.
The reason we didn't go was a good one, though. It was Dan's birthday on Friday and I decided (copying a friend's idea) to have a surprise dinner party for him. I'm always doing this to myself. Have an idea for something simple and it turns into something huge! Just a few friends turned into dinner for twenty-one (including the kids).
A few dramas in the lead up - I had to work, Dan took the day off work, I couldn't leave work early enough and then got stuck in traffic and didn't get home until 6pm!! Dan ended up putting the meat on, my mother did more meat and the potatoes and my mother-in-law and I did the rest. We didn't eat until 8pm.
The best family shot of the night! Note the delicious passionfruit + chocolate gelato cake. I couldn't find a 5 candle so 4+1 had to suffice.
But all in all, it was a fabulous night with good company, lots of food and a lovely relaxed atmosphere. Nothing formal. But my friends don't care about that sort of thing. Dan was quite happy. The kids were fairly well behaved.
After dinner they took themselves off to the lounge room and flaked out in front of a movie until I was able to get them to bed - at 10:30pm! So late! No wonder we were a wreck the next day and missed the markets! As evidenced by this picture. Atticus, fast asleep on the lounge, just before lunch.
I don't think I will be doing it again for a quite a few years, even though it was a lot of fun. The markets, though, will definitely NOT be missed again!
Yay! Tomorrow I'm going to the Finders Keepers markets at Carriageworks (which, incidentally, is where they filmed So You Think You Can Dance).
I'll take some pictures and post more about it later.
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By the way, I cannot believe that it has been a month since I last wrote on this here online journal. Seriously! This crazy thing called TIME just keeps getting away from me. It's driving me crazy.
Right, so. I knit, I crochet, I quilt, I sew. The main crafts. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert at any of them but I try, and that's what counts, right?
A couple of friends are into cross-stitching. It was never really my cup of tea. Pretty little ducklings and flowers and heart-felt messages. Not my thing at all.
But today I found some brilliant inspiration and now I want to start cross-stitching: Radical Cross Stitch. Their tag line is "Seriously Seditious Stitching". It says it all, really. Check out the gallery. Awesome! If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is!
I started knitting a bias baby blanket late last year intended for a friend's new baby boy on the other side of the world... but it got heavy on the needles, Christmas and the New Year happened and other projects got in the way.
This week I was determined to complete it so I could send it off. I have three balls each of a cotton/linen yarn in three colours to make nine stripes but decided to only make six. I added two whole balls to the blanket, 5 out of 6 stripes. Wonderful work. Lots of knitting...
until I laid it out on the floor and realised it would be too small to be useful. So just like that, in five minutes, I pulled out a week's worth of work. Huh! So easy to undo.
Starting tomorrow, for the next four weeks, I'm going to a dress making class at the Sydney Community College. It goes from 9:30-2:30pm on each Friday - a whole day of sewing :)
I'm so excited! I worked today instead of tomorrow - usually Thursdays are my day off. Thankfully my mother and Dan have combined forces to allow me to work for the Thursdays adjacent to my Friday classes. How lucky am I?
I chose a pattern - Simplicity 2848 - a "jumper" dress (I always thought they were called pinafores or some such). It looks a little daunting but I didn't want to choose something too easy. I mean, it's a learning experience so I have to challenge myself. I tried to do a little preliminary work tonight, tracing the pattern etc. But I couldn't work out what size is best - my measurements don't fit into one particular size (surprise, surprise - not having the "ideal" body shape). So, I'll have to do it all in the classroom. I hope I won't run out of time. I know that four weeks will go very quickly!
The year has finished already? I'm amazed, are you?
Elora started child care in January and I went back to work, full time at first but part-time eventually.
The kids grew and grew. Elora is a little chatterbox now, mimicking her closest brother constantly. Atti has come along really well except for a couple of convulsions in the middle of the year which means that he's back on his meds. He can now (mostly) write his name and numbers and starts preschool next year! Dante completed his Preliminary Piano Practical Exam (got a B+ - did I tell you about that?) and is going into Year Three next year - the "Primary" part of school, no longer "Infants" any more!
Not much else has really happened that I can think of. I took a sewing class in the latter part of the year. It was great fun and I learnt a lot. Still trying to decide if I'm going to go to the next level (which is during the day for four weeks in March). I've done a bit more sewing of clothing and started some more projects. Did some more knitting as well... Took a sock knitting class in April. Dan went to the USA in June (and finally got his American passport a little later). I moved into a new office at work after 9 years in the same place! Made some closer friendships there as a result. That was nice.
So now, time to consider the coming year. 2009. I don't generally make new year resolutions but I will make a few this time:
Cook more.
Continue my enthusiasm for keeping the kitchen clean and tidy.
Sew more. Sew more clothes and use up all that fabric I've been buying this year!
Knit more. Craft more in general, I think.
Exercise more. I've been going for jogs and going to the gym. I want to keep that up in the new year. (I can't believe that I've put on 2Kg in the last six weeks! Blasted festive season and all the eating it entails).
Shout less. That's going to be a hard one.
Well, that's far more than I expected to write. They are all pretty general - nothing too specific. But that's okay by me :)
Happy New Year everyone. Hope you are having an enjoyable break and that the New Year is a happy, productive and safe year for you all.
