My First Crochet Item

with armholes and shaping and stuff! That is wearable :) And isn't a scarf or shawl.

I have been spying so many lovely knitted or crocheted items lately, from many of the totally talented Crafty Mamas in the forum, that I was completely inspired to have a go. Then the lovely Tracy started up a Yarn-Along, and I decided to jump in feet first, not expecting to even finish an item.

But I did, and it is gorgeous! I love it! DD on the other hand, isn't as impressed, as it is a bit big. Pfft! She is doing nothing but growing lately, and really, it was my first ever cardigan. I think she should cut me a bit of slack lol

I do know why it is slightly too big, and that is because the pattern calls for a size 6mm hook, and I only had a 7mm. I knew it was going to be slightly bigger, as I did do a gauge swatch thingy.

Anyways, the pattern is the Bebop Cardi. I found it on Ravelry - it is a free pattern and is rather easy for a beginner. It was also quick. I managed to have it finished in 4 days - about 10 hours tops. The yarn is BWM Luxury in cream - DD picked that out of the colours that were available. And I must say, it is an absolute pleasure to work with such beautiful wool!

I added some button loops as I was finishing the edges, and they are a bit hit and miss - but they seem to work ok. Two extra rows were added when I was working the bottom, so that it had a bit more length and I think that works well.

Mis-matched buttons, just because they were there and it is helping to reduce the stash :)

Also crocheted lately is this simple granny square blanket for my niece. She drags her bigger ones everywhere and trips over them. So this one is to drag around with less chance of tripping.

Cheers!

Pencil Tubs (made from a collection of bits and pieces)

A note was sent home from school after a few days, asking the children to please bring in 2 tubs/cups for their pencils to live in on their desk (this is for DD's class). I could've driven to the shops and bought some, but then they would've been like the other kids ones. Can't have that now, can we?

A chat with DH on what sort of size we needed, and dig in the recycling box for some tins..... Then DH comes up with the idea using PVC pipe. He even had some in the right diameter. So I left him to it and went back inside to cook tea. Not long after he brought 2 inside, complete with an MDF base - nice and sturdy!

So as we sat watching TV after the kids were in bed, I was armed with the fabric, and DH had the hot glue gun (because I am not very good at it, and managed to have the first attempt go hard before I even stuck the fabric to it, and then burnt myself when I tried again - some things are best left to husbands), and between us we managed to get them prettified :) Not perfect, but DD certainly thought they were wonderful.

Cheers!

New Iron with a Difference

A while back my iron started giving me the fits. I wasn't too surprised, as it was a hand-me-down from my sister, and had had a good few years of regular use before me.
I spent some time researching, as I wanted an iron that had good steaming abilities, and had a bit more weight as it would be a sewing tool, and very rarely used for just ironing clothes (pfft!).

A Philips was my final choice, and a lovely purple one too :)
Except it had a few annoying qualities - like timing out and shutting off when I tried to press interfacing on, or having to reach under the ironing board to turn it off at the wall switch when I was done pressing a seam.

So I gave it to DH and asked him to work his magic :) Now it has a magic switch on the side and no longer has automatic shutoff hindering my interfacing pressing abilities. DH has a few more words on this, so do pop over and read his blog.

Cheers!

Silk Skirt and Burda Top

Another wedding, another outfit :) After I accidentally shrunk my red silk dress (and possibly gained some Christmas pudding), I had to make a new outfit. What a shame! lol

I wanted simple, yet dressed up, but also with the potential to dress down slightly. I think I achieved that.

The skirt is Ottobre 5/2007 #18. Fabric is Dupion Silk from Spotlight that was on sale for $8/m - thankfully, as it is normally $30/m.
I lined the skirt with cotton voile as the wedding was in the middle of summer. This made it beautiful to wear.

The top is Burda 11/2008 #113 in a poly/chiffon fabric, also on sale for $8/m. What a bear to work with!! OMG! It slipped and frayed and was a real pain in the behind. Until I mixed up some starch and painted all my seam allowances to make them stiff enough to work with. Worked like a charm.

As the chiffon was very see through, I made a camisole from the cotton voile. I had picked up a copy of the Kwiksew Lingerie book at the markets late last year, for a grand sum of about 50c.

To finish the outfit I wanted a thin black belt and a silver bag. The op-shop came to the rescue for me, with both :)
A friend gifted me the gorgeous necklace.

Cheers!

Back To School Roundup

School starts back this week - just 2 more sleeps.

DD is in year 1 this year, so needed a few extra items - an art shirt/smock, and a pencil case. I looked quickly online for a pattern for an art smock, but couldn't find one that I was happy with, so I pulled out my Enid Gilchrist books and flicked through. I found one that was roughly the right size, so using DDs measurements, drafted up a rough pattern. I didn't get it quite right, as when I sewed the sleeves on the neckline was rather uneven, so the casing for the elastic is far from perfect. But it will work and that is all that matters.

It is sewn from an op-shop bed sheet - a lovely thick cotton. The sleeve bottoms and neckline are gathered with elastic to make it easy for her to get on and off herself.
I think by the thumbs up it is satisfactory :)

Listed on the year 1 booklist is a pencil case, but I didn't want to buy one as they are not very nice quality at all. I also wasn't sure if she would use it, as DS didn't when he was in year 1. So I delved in the stash to see what we could come up with. This fabric was a remnant from SL, and the zip is a very old one that was given to me. I like that it matches almost exactly to the green :)

Packing the school supplies in bags to take to school, I noticed DS's pencil case from last year had started to get holes in it. He asked very nicely if I could make him a new one. So we picked some red corduroy (from the op-shop) and a bright blue zip from the stash.

Nice and shiny and new, all ready for school.

Cheers!

Kings Park Visit

We decided to take a picnic up to Kings Park today, as the kids haven't been up there since they were quite small. It was very warm, but also a lovely day out.

We started with a walk around the parkland, stopping to watch the water fountains, and play at the waterfall.

Then it was over the elevated walkway, looking out over the river and the city.

We then drove up to the playground and had a picnic lunch. Cooling off under the water sprayers before we headed home.

A lovely summer day!

Cheers!

Super Dooper Quick Christmas Present Roundup

(coz I forgot to do it before now).

For the kids, they both received a mummy made outfit. Ottobre shorts for DS, with a Farbenmix Hilde t-shirt. Ottobre tee and Farbenmix Carolyn skirt/leggings combo for DD. All fabrics are from Crafty Mamas, also the ribbon embellishments.
EDIT: The Otto patterns are: shorts - 1/2004 #24 (I think they were pants, but I made them shorts, in a size 134).
DD's tee is 3/2010 #31 in a size 116 - I found it is on the small side, or intended for a very slim child.

They also asked for a set of beanbags - so I did 4 sets, so my nieces received a set each too. Except I was a little overzealous making these, I made the outer with velcro so they could be removed and washed - never, ever, again!! That was pure madness - though they will be easy to wash :)

For my younger cousins, and another young family member, I made covered journals. Super happy with these. The bigger ones are A4, and the smaller ones are A6. Embroidery designs are all from Huups.

A lanyard for a great Aunt. I was unsure of the colours in this before sewing it up - but it is just perfect for her.

And lastly, a Keyka Lou Half-Moon Bag in Meadowsweet fabrics. This was for my Aunty and she loved it! So do I :)

Cheers!