Still here

Still around. Been up to this and that. Here is a bit of what I've been doing in the craft department.

More dolly knits, all patterns from Tikki

and some spinning

A gorgeous batt from Charli that has been core spun onto a commercial core

and three colours of a commercial dyed top and a little glitz that I carded together and spun as I nice fat single.

29th February

When miss Mandy woke up this morning and realised that it was the 29th of February she informed that it was a special day and therefore required celebratory cake.

So while she was at school I decided to indulge the whim and cooked three basic cakes, one for Mandy, one for Lucas and one for the neighbour who stays after school on Wednesdays. Then when they got home from school, I asked them to choose 2 icings colours each, mixed them up and let them loose.

Sugar retox anyone?

Been making stuff

Just haven't been telling you about it. So here goes a quick wrap up of what I can remember from the last few months. Apologies if there are any double ups, lets get into it.

First up I finally finished off a couple of long standing WIP's.

a citron

and some blue arm warmers, no pattern just winged it

Some dolly knits were whipped up before Christmas, I haven't managed to photograph them all yet but here are a few

A dolly sized Milo. The hat was just made up

A dolly Edens Adam

and a rosy posy skirt

Also well before Christmas I made another version of New Look 6864 out of an Alexander Henry print. This has had a huge amount of wear this summer.

I also have a couple of blankets on the go. This is the beginnings of a sunny spread

There is quite a bit more knitting hiding around the place just yet to have managed to photograph it all.

Nephews and one Niece

We had family Christmas for my side of the family yesterday. This is the handmade portion of what was gifted to my nephews and niece.

For the older boys (3 - 5) they got a cushion each as I figured they didn't really need anymore toys at the moment.



I used Jodie's technique as a starting point and went from there. The backs are simple envelope/pillowcase style as I couldn't find my zipper stash but did have more than enough denim for the extra width required for some overlap.

My niece received a couple of dresses. The bodice is based upon Tikki's rainbow dress, knit in cotton and then the skirt is just a simple rectangle (one with a bonus ruffle) that has been gathered to fit the bodice.





I'm going to assume the instant request to put one on means she likes them.

Finally my recently born baby nephew received what I think is the best thing I've made in awhile. I had lots of fun making it but was a little hesitant that I had gone too far out on a limb.



It is a pram blanket knit from Woolganic 16 ply (the same as one of the teacher's scarves from my previous post) and backed with some gorgeously soft and snuggly velour knit fabric from craftymamas.



The chart came from the book Domiknitrix but can also be found for free here.



I shouldn't have worried. Both parents loved it!

More Christmas Gifting

More teacher gifts.

Both got a scarf this year. A bit out of season but then again this is Melbourne when anything goes. For my daughters female teacher I made a slightly modified version of Claudia. I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern. Very easy to remember the pattern repeat and works up quickly. I can see more of these in my future.



For her male teacher, a simple 2x2 rib in wonderfully squishy Woolganic 16ply that I hand dyed.

A November Wedding

Back in November a close friend of mine got married. Before the wedding another close friend and I decided to make the happy couple a quilt together as a wedding gift.



We spent some time carefully choosing fabrics making sure we had a good range that represented the taste of both the bride and the groom.



Then we added in a few of our own faves for good measure



I had an idea in my head for a design and we got cutting. We put the top and back together quite quickly and the wonderful Andi gave us a hand in basting it together ready for quilting.



Together we hand quilted in 3 different colours of perle thread. Then we quilted some more. And some more.



A rich red binding tied it all together and made for what we hope will become a treasured family heirloom in the years to come.



Did I mention this thing was big. Like really big. Like roughly 2.4 x2.4 metres.

The wedding was beautiful and I even found time to make myself a dress and the hubby a matching tie.



Now, we have more friends getting married in February. I wonder if I could crochet a blanket by then...

Christmas is creeping in

I was going to show some pics of the wedding pressie I made with a friend for another friend for their wedding back in November but I still haven't found the cable for that camera. So you get a bit of Christmas action instead.

First up I joined in with a great swap organised by Jodie from the Haby Goddess. The theme was red and white and I was lucky enough to receive this beautiful wreath and a very cute little fat quarter too from Sophie. Thankyou so much Sophie. I compromised with my daughter and the wreath hasn't made it to the door and is instead hanging above the kids advent calendar.



My swappee scored a couple of strings of crocheted bunting made using Jodie of Jellywares star tutorial



and a block printed linen tea towel. Gotta love a bit of potato action, I always forget how much I enjoy such a simple process. I ended up making a few of these for various people.



Hmm advent calender you heard me say. Well the young lady of the house declared the need for one on about the 25thish of November. No worries I thought I'm sure I can pick something up at the supermarket. On the 29th she clarified the request. It had to be made by me, had to have pockets and had to be big. Because I am often a total pushover I agreed. No prizes for guessing what I did on the 30th November.



The result is a bit wonky (but we embrace that in this house) and declaring it understated in decoration is acceptable too. The pockets only get filled one at a time as I live with a house full of pocket plunderers.

Next on the list was round one of teacher pressies. Using the pattern from Nicole's book these little zipper pouches were whipped up and filled with some chunky handmade soap. Spot the fabric from Sophie, it didn't even hit the stash as I knew it was perfect for one the the recipients.



A spot of decorating has also been going on. Some for the school in the form of origami flowers



and some tree action at home. Previously we have only had a very small tree, however this year I agreed that we would get a bigger tree. So the smaller tree is being shared between the kids by taking turns in each of their bedrooms. Lucas has developed his own unique decorating style



And the bigger tree, well after agreeing to get one, I went all bah humbug and didn't want to spend any money. So I made one instead.