Time

Big changes have been afoot around here. I started my new job 3 weeks ago and it is fantastic. I'm really enjoying what I do and the people I work with. This is a first for me as in the past I have usually had one or the other but never both. I hope it stays that way.

Of course this has meant that I haven't had all that much time to do stuff. I seem to always be saying that. I have made another twirly skirt for Izzy that just needs the elastic sewn. I'm hoping she will wear it even though it is not pink. My other creative pursuit is decorating our lounge room in anticipation of Christmas Day because I have somehow managed to invite 8 people to our tiny 2 bedroom house. Despite the fact that I am working full-time and don't have time for anything I am really looking forward to the day. I think it is because I really like all the people invited - non-stress people. It should be fun.

Luckily I have between Christmas and New Year off which means I might have time to do something - although it will probably be just sleep!

Twirly Skirt

I've been a bit beside myself since I was told I got the job and realised that I am going to have even less time to make stuff. Here is my latest installment though. It's a twirly skirt for Isabel. She loves it. It was very easy to make just time consuming with adjusting the gathers and then removing the thread after sewing. I neatened it all up by overlocking the seams which makes it look really professional.

Felt toys

So I have been making a few things although I have been thinking about making things more.

I saw some felt food online and thought that would be fun to try. You can buy patterns but being the frugal person I tend to be I thought I'd just make it up as I went along. So here is my first attempt which I think turned out quite well.

I really liked the donuts I had seen online and so wanted to try making one first. If I make another one I think I will triple sew on the beads as the kids seem to try and pick them off. I have some other felt cut up to make some other things which I will hopefully post when I get around to that.

And here are some finger puppets I made after seeing them on the Fiskars website. I'm really pleased with how they came out. Isabel helped choose the pearl for the clam and the tentacles threads for the squid. I haven't made the felt background/pocket but I might do so just to have somewhere to store them.

Catch up

I realised after the last post that I had done some more things before I had a break. I completed the little blanket made of the granny squares my Mum had done years ago. I did this by crocheting a border around each of the squares and then sewing them together. I haven't taken a photo of the finished product but here are some of the squares with the new border.

And here's the second hat I made. This is the one for Josie. Not bad for a second attempt at crocheting. Unfortunately she isn't a big fan of wearing hats but I'm still really pleased that I made it. Isabel's hat is similar but without the earflaps. I also put a dusty pink border on it and crocheted a flower and sewed it on the front. I'll take a photo of it one day.

A Pause

So my craftiness is in hiatus at the moment. I have instead been reading like a demon and loving it. I am listening to a the Rangers' Apprentice series which I am really enjoying and reading the Earth's Children which is quite awesome too. This means not a lot of time for craft.

But I have embarked on my quest to find a better way to clean my hair. I've been wanting to try the No Poo method for ages but finally got myself organised to do it. It's going quite well and while my hair isn't quite as soft as it was, it seems to be a bit more manageable. Washing with the bicarb is pretty easy and I like the apple cider vinegar rinse. My whole aim in doing this is to try to avoid having to wash my hair daily. I also like the idea of using less chemicals and the simplicity is very appealing. I'm only on day 5 of this experiment so I'll see how it goes. I don't know if it is related or not but the skin on my face seems softer. I don't know how the change to how I wash my hair could affect it but it is the only change I can think of that could be doing it. Strange.

This and That

So the cross stitch is at the framers and I'm excited to get it back. I've been doing little things. Today we found a chair on the roadside and I recovered it for use as the base of the high chair. I have also been working on making an eye patch for Isabel. The medical tape is pretty harsh on her skin so I found on a blog a pattern to make one out of felt. So I made a first prototype but it is too big. But I think it will work well when I get the size right.

I have also started practising some crochet but I've realised that the yarn I am using is too dark and I'm have trouble seeing what I'm doing. I have hopes of making a hat for Josephine.

The best and most exciting news is that I have just bought a sewing cabinet that holds both my sewing machine and overlocker. Ebay is great. I only picked it up this afternoon so I haven't tested it out yet. Happy early birthday to me!

Hello Baby

Here is the cross stitch I have just finished for my niece. It is a combination of two patterns - a border from one pattern and the centre from another. The colours are mainly from my stock of floss from other work I've done. I plan to get it framed and presented soon.

More Pants

So Isabel has grown out of more pants and it was time to make some more. I've actually made two pairs but I forgot to photograph them when I was done. The other pair is identical but the colours are reversed (dark patches on light pants). They are also a bit cleaner than these ones but that won't last. They are made of all cotton corduroy.

I also made Isabel a sparkly princess skirt for a princess birthday party. I made it up by just sewing two stretch pieces of material together and putting in an elastic waist. I also did a bit of hand stitching at the bottom to give it a loopy hem line which may have worked a bit more as a trip hazard than anything else. But she loved it.

In Progress

I've been doing lots of bits and pieces recently but haven't finished anything yet. I have started two new pairs of pants for Isabel but haven't finished them yet. I need to get her to try them on to figure out the waist elastic and the hems.

Tonight she asked me to make her a cape like Pocoyo's so we went and found some material and I put one together for her. I haven't quite finished because I'm trying to figure out what would be the simplest way to attach the band around her neck at the front. A button, press stud or maybe some velcro. I'll ponder it.

The baby cross-stitch I'm making for my niece is progressing well. I've put Josephine's baby blanket on hold while I finish the cross-stitch. And I've found a pattern for making a simple beanie for Josephine which looks like a good way to learn how to crochet. If it works out well I'd like to make one for Isabel too.

And I also have to adjust another pair of pants for Isabel and repair one of Josephine's jumpsuits that she has put her toe through (again). I wish I had more time!

Baby Blanket

I started this baby blanket before Josephine was born and I'm hoping to finish it in the next month or two. I'm obviously not a fast knitter but I really enjoy knitting. I'm using Baby Cocoon yarn which is 70% Australian merino wool and 30% nylon and is gloriously soft. I've decided to make the blanket bigger than the pattern calls for as I thought it was be more useable then. Of course the downside of that is that it is taking me longer to knit so she may be too big for by the time I finish.
Isabel put in an order for her own blanket when I started this one although she wants her in pink. I'm not sure I could bear knitting in pink but we'll see...
When I started planning this project I realised that I needed really long needles and found this pair at an op shop for $1. I am inordinately pleased with that.

Apron

So Isabel loves to help out in the kitchen and I've been looking for an apron for her to wear. But the only options seem to be plasticated monstrosities. Hence, I decided to make one. I've just used a tea towel and some tape type stuff. It gave me the opportunity to once again use the fancy stitches on my sewing machine (see detail). I put a press stud on the shoulder tape. I'm pretty pleased with the result and Isabel likes it too.

Pink Flower

I've decided that I need a record of my current and completed crafty projects to help motivate me. I also have a tendency to think that I haven't done anything because I forgot where I'm up to so I'm hoping this helps. This makes me sound like a bit of ditz but I'm really not.

So here's what I did today - I made a little flower to add to Isabel's jeans. She is so infatuated with pink that she doesn't like to wear anything that doesn't have pink on it. So here's hoping this works. This little project enabled me to use my new sewing machine as well as some of the new embroidery thread I just bought from eBay. Isabel chose the button in the middle which certainly wouldn't have been my choice but actually works out quite nicely.