a little bit of bright

I went off the radar for a bit there didn't I. 

I love blogging, both reading others and writing my own, but as with everything and everyone, I need to prioritise my time and blogging gets the last look in.  That doesn't mean I've been idle though, not by a long shot!

Yesterday I gifted this crochet table runner to a lovely friend of mine, who took up crocheting about two years ago after seeing some of my work and she has never looked back. 

She used to call me her crocheting guru - well she has totally surpassed my ability and output and is now my guru!

I started the flower granny squares back in September 2009. 

I originally intended to make a whole blanket out of little granny squares, with the flower squares interspersed among them.  After producing about 100 little granny squares I lost interest and was defeated by the enormity of it all. 

I used some of the flower squares last year in a pillow cover I made.

Then last winter I made myself a crochet table runner based on a hexagonal flower block. 

My crocheting guru admired it when she was visiting not long after.

When she moved recently I knew exactly what to give her as a housewarming gift.

I dug deep into the vast depths of my UFO stash and found the remaining flower squares, and then just went from there.

 Based on the number of flower squares I had, I decided on the lay out.  Once I had joined them all together I knew I needed to finish it off with a border. 

I flicked through all my crochet books and browsed the Internet but couldn't find what I was looking for. 

I had a vision of a border with triangular points all around as opposed to a rounded, fan or shell shape border.

Then, during the Easter school holidays, we drove up to Brisbane. 

We always stop at Bulahdelah for a cuppa at a quirky little cafe that also sells preloved goods and clothes. 

Amongst all the goodies I found gold.

I actually didn't buy the book when I first saw it for some reason, but I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole time we were in Brisbane.

  So on the way back home we stopped in Bulahdelah again and this time I did not hesitate to buy this sweet book for the princely sum of $6!

I love how the table runner has turned out and couldn't resist trying it out on my hall sideboard to snap a few photo's.

It may have taken afew years, but I've now used all the flower granny squares I originally crocheted. 

As for the plain granny squares, well thats a whole other story. 

Now that the cold weather is truly upon us I will drag it all out again to continue on with this epic and take afew photos of how this project has changed and evolved.

Until next time.......

xo

a little bit of hooky time

This morning, while walking home after taking my girls to school, I decided to take a break from my daily grind (I know, I'm such a dare devil ;)) and spend a little time making something - just for the fun of it! 

Instead of getting stuck straight into the housework, I sat down at the computer with my cup of coffee, some red yarn leftover from this crochet project and a crochet hook and in the space of an hour hooked up this cute little headband I've had bookmarked for aaaaages.

 

I was finally, regretfully (so timewasting) bitten by the pinterest bug a couple of weeks ago and I was adding all the tutorials I've been bookmarking over the past few years by keeping a list of links on this blog to my boards, when I rediscovered the tutorial for this headband by Cami @ You Seriously Made That!?

It's so cute, so easy and so satisfying!

And talking of timewasting activities, I took a total of 47 photos just to get the four I've posted here! 

Hope you spend a little time doing something you love today :)  

coming out of hibernation

It's been a while.................. winter tends to do that to me.

 

There has been constant crafting, making, doing. 

But in the evenings, rather than sitting in my cold bedroom at the computer I have much prefered to be curled up in front of the tele with the fire on and a crochet hook in my hand.

This is my latest creation and I have to say I am much too pleased with it to keep it to myself!

I came across this great tutorial by Heidi Bears while doing a spot of blog hopping last week (yes, I've still been sneeking a little time at the computer) and just had to drop everything else and give it a go.  I decided to keep it pretty small and as I've been wanting to make a table runner for the sideboard near my front door for a while now decided this was perfect!

I had great fun making this. 

Once I'd made the first couple, I could practically do it with my eyes closed - perfect for that curled up in front of the tele senario. 

To make things even better, I followed Heidi Bears tutorial for joining as you go, and as I did so, I crocheted over the wooly ends, saving me from having to weave them in when I'd finished Woo Hoo :))))

Now I have read many times that blocking is only worthwhile if you've used natural fibres.  Well I'm here to tell you it isn't so. 

I made this using acrylic yarn and when I'd finished it was a little wonky and wavy around the edges so I decided to block it and I am very impressed with the finished results. 

I'd read somwhere awhile ago about pinning your finished item to those interlocking foam mats you can buy from just about anywhere these days. 

I had some stashed away out in the garage from when my kids where little so I gave it a go and it worked f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s.l.y. 

Now when I walk in the front door on a cold and dreary day I have a wonderful, colourful piece of handmade goodness to greet me.  I think my new table runner finishes this little entry display off very nicely.

Now let's see how long I can stretch it between posts this time.......

rrrrrrribbit?

I was going through my yarn drawer the other day, looking for a quick, easy, satisfying little project to hook up after the mammoth effort that was the Dolores, when I came across 6 balls of scrummy Moda Vera Cupcake yarn in Aqua.

 

I bought them awhile ago from the sale tub at my local Spotlight for $1 each - bargain, yay! 

I just love LOVE the colour, and the yarn (50% nylon 50% acrylic) is so soft and bungee and squishy. 

I decided this would make a perfect cowl. 

So I jumped on Ravelry and searched for free (I'm cheap like that) cowl patterns. After searching through all the patterns I decided that the Convertible Cowl was exactly what I was after.

Fast forward a couple of days and this is what I've got.

  

Juuuust not sure if I like it.........

 I was expecting/hoping for something a fair bit more snug around my neck.

 

It's designed to be worn as a hood if so desired too, which is great, I just don't know if I'd ever wear it like that though?

But I did wear it into town yesterday and it definately kept me warmer than I would've been without it!

So what do you guys think, frog it?

Dolores dress - aka August (2010) one per month project

Finally finished.

 

I have never been so pleased to finish a project. 

Not only because I have kept my sweet daughter Miss A, who so desperately wanted this dress for her 6th birthday, waiting e.i.g.h.t. months for this dress, but also because I am so OVER it.

Having said that, I do love this dress. 

I am so glad I persisted with it, and that I didn't rush it or cut corners or say "that'll do" when certain elements weren't quite right.

Like the neck - which when finished as per the book was quite large (as is the whole dress). 

  So I added two rows of single crochet and one row of picot to match the edging around the sleeves and bottom of the dress. 

I did contemplate doing these rows in pink and red as per the sleeves and skirt but felt it would have made the dress too busy.  I'm glad I stuck with green.

Or the belt which turned out so long it could've wrapped around Miss A's waist twice.  So I frogged about 30cm off the length of it and re-crocheted the red border. 

So, afew details about this project.

Pattern: Dolores dress, Crochet Design for kids - Lucinda Guy

Yarn: 4 ply Luxury in Forest (green), brick (red), baby pink and baby blue - Bendigo Woolen Mills

Time: started August 2010, finished May 2011

I made this dress following the pattern for a size 4-5 (the largest size in the book). 

After taking Miss A's measurements I felt sure the dress would fit her.  But as the months rolled on by I got more and more concerned as to whether it would still fit. 

I needn't have worried though, the dress is actually still too big for Miss A - phew! 

Not only because it still fits, but also because it means that after all that time and effort the dress will see another winter's worth of wearing. 

And that's before it gets handed on down the line to Miss B!

Thankfully Miss A still loves it, and wore it to a birthday party on the weekend!

the Annie V-neck vest

Finished!

I made an extra effort to finish this in time for Miss B's birthday a couple of weeks ago.

  I don't think I've even mentioned this project here before. 

I started it out of guilt for Miss B when I started the Dolores Dress  (which I might add is also almost finished!!! Just have to sew it all together and weave in ends.....)Miss B picked it out of the book herself and instructed me to make it purple.  Well actually she really wanted it the same golden yellow as the one in the book, but I could not find any yarn remotely similar at the time.

for Miss A last August, as part of the One Per Month Challenge. 

So, to the finer details:

Pattern - Annie V-neck vest in size 3-4, from Crochet Design for Kids by Lucinda Guy. 

The sizing runs a little big, for my girls at least. 

On the upside, the Dolores Dress should still fit Miss A even though it's taken me 8 months to complete it (almost) and I made a size 4-5 for my 6 year old...........

Yarn - Lincraft Silk Plus.  A composition of wool, silk and bamboo; 4 balls.  This was a nice yarn to work with, unlike some other Lincraft yarns I have tried.  And a very lovely shade of purple.

Alterations - the front and neck band was supposed to be 5 rows of stitching, but as I was running out of wool fast I made it only 4 rows. 

Also the pattern called for only one button, to be stitched to the waist band for decorative purposed only. 

Alas, as you can see the vest is rather big on Miss B, so to try and stop it from constantly slipping off her shoulders I added three more buttons up the middle.  They too are only for decorative purposes, I've just sewn the front opening together.  Miss B chose the gold buttons from my vast collection of vintage buttons.  She loves sifting through them, ooohing, aaaahing and sorting. 

How would I rate the pattern?  Overall, very, very good.  It was easy to follow, the instructions were clear and concise and I've made a beautiful little vest using a simple stitch!

She's happy - I'm happy.

Another UFO done :)

pretty things

At the end of last year/beginning of this year, I, like so many of you out there, made a little promise to myself to finish off all the unfinished projects I had laying around the place. 

My sewing table was piled so high with half done items I couldn't even see the table any more. 

Every time I wanted to sew, I would have to make several trips back and forth from my sewing table to my bed moving things just so I could get started. 

Not to mention the numerous (five spring to mind) crochet projects I have on the go............

So, I have been slowly crossing afew little things off my UFO list.

These are but two of them...........................................

I started making these crochet flower squares (pattern can be found here) back in July '09! 

I made about twenty of them, then changed my mind about the project I was making them for.  

What to do with them?  Make a cushion cover of course!

And another.

Recognise the fabric?

It's Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson. 

(Yes, yes, there is one little rectangle of Amy Butler midwest modern in there too. )

I received these little fabric sample's, along with a purchase I made from modern retro textiles  back in March 2010. 

I was smitten. 

So small yet so beautiful. 

Too beautiful to just throw away. 

These tiny bits of yum languished in my sewing room for many, many months, just waiting for inspiration to strike. 

One evening I had been indulging in a bit of flickr browsing and stumbled across these gorgeous cushions made by meringuedesigns.  

Aha!

In no time at all I whipped up the cushion front and then that sat around in my sewing room for some more months.

 

Finally, I paired it with some spotty fabric from Spotlight; pink for the front, chocolate (so much nicer then brown) for the back.  I  did some straight line  machine quilting, made a simple slip cover, 

and that's another finished project!   

One per month challenge - August

Hello there!  Let's just pretend it hasn't been a whole month since my last blog post shall we?  Lest's just pretend for a moment, that it's still August. 

OK, you with me?  Good, so here goes.

The book I've chosen for the One per Month Challenge this month is Lucinda Guy's Crochet Designs for Kids.  I cannot rave about this book enough, I looooove loooooove loooooove this book. 

I'd like to make every project in this book. 

BUT this is just not going to happen, as I've already got umpteen different projects of the hooky, sewy, quilty kind on the go at the moment. 

To help me narrow it down to just one project I asked Miss A what she would like me to make her for her birthday this month. 

She chose the Dolores Dress - lovely! 

I've been thinking for a while about ordering some Bendigo Wool. 

I've read some lovely things about this yarn and the prices are very competitive plus they have a great range of colours available.

So about a week into August I ordered some lovely Luxury 4 ply baby wool from Bendigo.  After about a week and a half (part of the reason this project was never going to be finished in August) a package  containing 5 gorgeous skeins of the softest most squishy wool arrived on my doorstep.

As soon as the littlies were sound asleep that night I got hooking.

Now.  Fast forward a month to last night.

To say this project has been slow going would have to be the understatement of the century.

This is the first project I have made using 4 ply fingering/baby weight yarn and a 2.5mm hook.

S. L. O. W. I tell you. 

Not to mention that after happily crocheting along for the past month, last night I frogged a good 15 rows due to a stitch count revealing I lost a stitch somewhere...............................

Needless to say this project was not finished in the month of August, and wont be finished anytime soon.

Patience my dear friends, patience.

If it wasn't for the fact this project was a birthday request by Miss A

and if it wasn't for the fact I had all the wool sitting waiting to be used

and if it wasn't for the fact I really, really love this dress and can't wait to see it on Miss A

I'd be quite tempted to frog the lot and move on.

To break the tedium of sewing a gazillion rows of single crochet and double crochet I have been doing a spot of sewing from time to time.

A couple of weeks back I finally whipped up a pair of these cute little pants for Miss B, using the 'Elasticated pants' pattern from one of my favourite craft books, Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy.

I've been on a real "use what's in your stash" kick of late so I used some nice dark denim, some cutesy candy print fabric (as chosen by Miss B) and some light blue bias binding I had stashed in my sewing room. 

Miss B has become a massive fan of purple over the last few months, dressing head to toe in purple at every opportunity. 

While purple is a lovely colour and tracksuit pants are great kids wear, sometimes it's nice to have them wearing something just that little bit nicer you know?

Quick, simple, easy to follow pattern.

What more could you want?

I've got another pair cut out and ready to sew up for Miss A sitting on the sewing table.

Come on school holidays, I say.  Only two days of school left this term. 

Not that I'm going to have too much time up my sleeve with all the galavanting we have planned.

Another little something I churned out a couple of days ago was the tiny happy shoulder bag.

I've had this on my list of "favourite free tutorials to try" (see over on the right side bar there) for ages now.

When I found out that one of the teacher's from Miss B's Occasional Care centre was leaving I knew this would be just perfect. 

Teresa has always admired the handmade items Miss B and I wear so I wanted to give her something handmade.

I used some Ikea fabric and pink pinwhale cord I had in my stash.  I really like how it turned out, momentarily considering keeping it for myself!

Does this happen to you when you make something to give away?

I think I consider keeping most things I make for gifts!

The only thing I did differently to the tutorial was to tie the straps together at the top instead of hand stitching them and this was predominantly because I had left it to the last minute - literally - and had to leave home to pick Miss B up from occasional care!

Looks cute like that though I think.

Although there have been a number of other stitchy, quilty, hooky projects being completed over the last few weeks which I would dearly love to share with you bath time is calling and this post is well and truly long enough already so they can wait until next time.

And no I haven't forgotten I promised a 100th post giveaway and tutorial, it's in the pipeline, I promise!

Somewhere over the rainbow

Well..........what a fun filled weekend we've just had in the little sweetpeas household.  Miss A is turning six next week, and months ago announced she wanted a "rainbow birthday party" - at home, with twelve of her favourite school friends to help celebrate.

Now I am far from being a party planner extraordinaire and generally do not "entertain" but, BUT as this little girl is in her first year of school, and par-tays seem to be the thing to do, I decided I could put my fear of being the hostess with the leastest aside for a day and throw her the best darn rainbow party I knew how.

I let my fingers do the walking so to speak and began perusing blogland for tips and how-to's on putting together all things rainbow.

The first gold I discovered came from a blog I follow and thoroughly enjoy, Red Gingham. 

Inspiration on two fronts here, rainbow jelly and rainbow marble cake.................................

I followed Julie's link to this blog and found what I thought would be a life saving recipe for a mother (ie. ME) of a child who is allergic to both egg and dairy.

 

Eager as a beaver I gave the recipe a go. 

Unfortunately I made the mistake of using the only can of softdrink in the house, which was a lemon Lift, therefore giving the cake a distinct lemony softdrinky taste. 

Hmmmmmmmmmm.  Might try the recipe again though, using just soda water. 

I do hold hopes that it may yet turn out to be a winner.

But for the sake of not looking like a complete fool to all our esteemed guests I opted to use a standard Butter Cake recipe, and then baked a batch of allergy friendly Chocolate cupcakes for Miss B to chow down on.

In my search for the perfect rainbow cake, one evening I Googled "rainbow cake" and found this. 

Now I knew I had hit the mother load.  It became my mission to make not a marbled rainbow cake

but a

L

A

Y

E

R

E

D

 rainbow cake!

Of course what would a rainbow party be without some sort of rainbow decorations.  With only afew nights to go before Miss A's birthday party I was browsing around blogland, hopping from one link to another then another as you do, when I came across this fabo tutorial for crochet butterflies.

 

Then and there I started up my rainbow butterfly collection and a few nights later had these to hang as decorations. 

I had to have a bit of handmade in there somewhere amongst the crepe paper streamers and coloured balloons!

Pretty, no?

Overall the party went smashingly;

my only compaint would be that I, in true slack blogger fashion, failed to take photo's of my rainbow masterpieces until after all was said and done and I was clearing up.

As I was about to disgard the only remaining, half eaten piece of six tier rainbow layer cake, it dawned on me that my hard work could not be proven in all it's glory as I had failed to capture it's beauty in digital format (which hardly does it justice anyway).

Same too goes for my fifteen cups of rainbow jelly.  Slaved over for a whole day, as two pairs of desperate eyes watched layer upon layer make their way back and forwards in and out of our fridge six times.

We did face painting, played musical statues, pin the bowtie on Cat in a Hat, we had a rainbow pinata, we blew bubbles and the favourite activity of the day would have to have been the "make your own party crown", which went over extremely well with both children and adults alike. 

Deep down I think we all enjoy a good bit of crafting, don't you?

So I hope you enjoyed it Miss A because it won't be repeated for a very. long. time.....................

A big thank you has to go out to all the wonderful, creative and inspirational bloggers, who freely share their ideas and knowledge.

CHEERS!

My Creative Space

Last week while visiting a friend I admired the cute little reversible pinafore one of her children was wearing. 

I was very pleasantly surprised when she told me she had made it herself, and that it was super quick and easy to do. 

She dissapeared into another room and returned with another pinny for me to take home to use as a template so I could make some for my girls.

So yesterday I traced off a pattern, made some adjustments to upsize from a size 2 to a size 6, pulled some fabric from my stash and made Miss A's favourite new piece of clothing!

Miss A has been a little sick for over a week and pleaded with me this morning to let her stay home.  I caved in and agreed she needed a day off to try and finally shake off Mr Sniffles.  I found out later in the day the real reason she wanted to stay home was because she couldn't bare to be apart from her new pinny! 

 Last night I finished off Miss A's granny shrug, which she also loves. 

I left it on the end of her bed and this morning when she came into my bed for her daily snuggle she was wearing it. 

And she did not take it off all day. 

This from the girl who doesn't like wearing a jumper - like ever.

Today I spent about half an hour wipping up an On-the-Go Art Satchel for a pirate mad boy celebrating his 6th birthday tommorrow.

The photos aren't so great.  The light was fading fast by the time a snapped these shots, but as I'm giving it away tommorrow they will have to do.

I spent quite some time the other day scouring all the fabric in Spotlight, looking for something pirate themed.  I finally gave up and decided to look elsewhere, when on my way out of the store something caught my eye.  Amongst the rolls of plastic and vinyl (like for tableclothes) there was this fantastic pirate print.  I was a little skeptical but as it was this or nothing I bought some and thought I'd give it a go.

It actually turned out really well and because the vinyl is already stiff and padded I didn't bother using any lining or interfacing which helped make an already quick and easy(if I do say so myself) project even quicker. 

I used Mel's idea of adding a strip of fabric to the front cover of the VA diary just to add to the pirate theme. 

Tonight I sewed together a second pinny in a size 2 that I cut out yesterday.  I'm gifting to my friend who lent me the original pinny.

I do find my creativity definately comes in waves. 

Or rather it's always there, but I can only push it to the side for so long before it explodes and I have to act! 

How about you, what's going on in your creative space?

I'd love to know...........

For more creative spaces head on over to Kootoyoo