Goodbye 2010

Goodbye 2010
You've been a hard year.
Next year will be better, it will, it promises.

Spikey the tiny tree & beginning to feel like christmas

Meet Spikey! This year we decided to buy a real living still growing tree. Spikey will be big one day, but for now his pot is almost bigger than he is! He is small enough we have popped him up on the table otherwise he sort of disappears if he is on the floor!

We had to race out today and buy some very small, very light-weight tinsel and baubles because the larger decorations we had would have broken and bent Spikey's tiny little branches! After decorating him we realised we had no star for the top! So I quickly crocheted up an Amigurumi star following Amy's instructions.

The little star is made from a scrap of 5 ply acrylic using a size 3.5 mm hook. (US E 4)

The crochet balls I crocheted with a mind to put on our tree earlier this Christmas preparation season have been strung up across the window next to the tree instead, else the lil tree might fall over!

I finished off another present for my little cousin in the wee hours of Saturday morning- My husband went off to bed, and I simply lost track of time while I was working on it, and the next time I looked at the clock it was 4:30am!

I made several mistakes, who wouldn't while sewing at that time of the morning! For some reason it is pulling funny in the middle of the front panel.

Inside I used the red robot print from a spotlight recent sale and rainbow from my stash (spotlight a while ago). The green bias I used is pulling funny and looks all wrinkled in the photo, but doesn't look that bad in person.

The red robot part is a zippy section we put in a box of crayons but its large enough for heaps of things. The pencil part we bought some cool triangle larger sized kids pencils because he is only just learning how to use them. The blue and white striped section we put in several thin colouring books. He also is getting the pentagon ball with the J on it.

The Last but not least bit of happy that happened yesterday, and then time for bed! My aunt and I have been sorting through some more things of mums, when we came across more of her stash - we'd thouhgt we'd found it all...but no, there are still surprises. Besides another cupboard full of fabrics, we found more plastic bags of yarn. We also found boxes full of threads, patterns, laces and zips and velcro and elastic.
I simply don't have the room here for it, so we made the decision to leave it there and as I make room in my stash I can bring some home with me.
Here are some of the goodies, two tins full - I couldn't resist bringing home yesterday.

Zips, zips and more zips, and some bias and velcro.

A reasonable sized biscuit tin full of zips and velcro and bias and some sort of stiffened mesh tape...not sure what thats for.

This tin is heavy, deep and bursting.

The heaviest biscuit tin FULL, BURSTING even, with laces. So much lace!
Mums cupboards constantly surprise me and I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

Hooks, Eyes, Ruffles and Refashioning!

It's just after lunch, and I thought I would pop in to post about what I am working on today. I've really been moaning a lot about the fact that I dropped the ball on the 12 in 12 challenges. I had such high hopes for being able to complete them all but life intervened.


So I have been working hard today to get back into the challenges. The October challenge is something refashioned (visit an op-shop and create something new). What a challenge!
When I lived in other towns, I shopped at op-shops a lot, I loved them! but here our local op-shops are actually quite awful. Theres no great finds, theres nothing interesting and everything is priced quite expensively, considering. The same things that haven't sold since we moved here 7 years ago, are still in the same places they were each time I go in. I understand they help and support a lot of families before the items left over end up in the store. I understand they don't put out the funky 60's-80's gear anymore, they put out recent,  real clothes to help real people - I get it, but it makes the stores boring!
So, last week I went on in and I tried my best to find something I would love. I wandered, I looked, I umm'd and ahh'd and squinted and pulled faces, and looked some more.
And then I spotted this sml ladies shirt out the corner of my eye, this colour! and a ruffle!

So, I had two ideas in mind, I had thought I wanted to make a bag out of it, but then my little niece spotted it's colour and she wanted me to make something for her out of it. So she wins! Cute trumps a bag! The absolute worst part about it is this:

It's held together all along the front with Hooks and Eyes galore!!!!
So, thank god for audio only podcasts so I can listen, while my eyes are busy while I am unpicking...and unpicking...

.....and unpicking!

I really wasn't going to post those pics, as it shows how messy my sewing space is. But since Hilary over at Quilary posted pics of her space I felt I really should show you I am not neat, I never have a tidy, clean, picture-book sewing room, but at the moment it is particularly feral, with more things coming into my little place recently than will ever leave and a couple of piles of things precariously balanced against another to hold them all upright. So far no major collapse, no avalanche, but it nears...I can feel it.

Will post an edit/update on the shirt/dress... later today with some luck!
Edit: I'm baaaack! and it's finished!

I used a triangle of white ribbing to close up the expose that was the neckline. For summer, the long sleeves were removed and a little frilled cap was put on instead. Where the hook and eyes were all down the front, I sewed it together completely, as it fits over her head instead.

October challenge complete!

A Busy Busy Busy Busy Week

OMG! I meant to post something every night for the past week..where oh where did all those days go you may ask!
Well I worked everyday this past week and by the time I got home all I wanted to do was sleep! And sleep I did, from about 8:30 right through til the alarm next morning. I was exhausted! Where did my youthful energy go, where did that girl who went out late every night, all those crazy late night bars clubs and all night parties, how often did she see the dawn, shoes in hand...she's 33 now and...asleep by 8:30, just awake long enough to watch Masterchef on the telly...Even on Friday night I did'nt even make the end of Masterchef Masterclass! Asleep on the lounge, crochet in hand! ...boy oh boy how we change through life.
So...here is what I finished this week...I can't remember what day it was...but it was a day ending in y.
For the 12 in 12 challenge, Mays item was something with an enclosed zip.
Taadaa! the KF Everything Wallet completed!

I changed it a bit in order to line the inside of the zipper pocket.

If I were to make it again, I would make it with the correct sized zip, instead of just the smaller one I had in the draw...

I know it's not made for an iPhone, but if I made it again... I'd make it wider and adjust the velcro bit so it would close properly once full of all my cards and my iPhone, and money...

And I'm an idiot, I spent hours choosing the positions of each pocket on the fabric to cut out cool bits of patterns on the fabric to show on the edge of each card pocket...and then promptly realised once finished, that you see none of them beneath the cards..hehehehe.

Still, I love it and it's cute...and the lovely Coles checkout operator made lovely comments about it - Usecase user testing successful:)

Also at some point I think last week even, I finished off my husbands scarf, but I'm not sure If I told anyone or showed it once it was actually finished! So, here it is...modelled by a reluctant, don't-talk-about-me-on-your-blog-husband. ;)

I had to finish this one hat I started about 15 times, unpulled, changed a bit, unpulled, made a mistake, threw it in a bag, found a much better pattern...unpulled and re-used the unpulled yarn, but finally I got it right and finished it! And it was really really simple as it turns out!  I used the Art of crochet, Teresas pattern Little Darling Toddler-Youth Crochet Shell cap. I could only get one ball of this yarn, I really loved it, I wanted it for me, but I can't really make anything much for me out of one ball, I really liked it and couldn't leave it in the shop, my niece loved it because it has pink in it ;) So now she has a crochet shell cap.

Last night I started crocheting a beanie during a run of 24 episodes we were trying to catch up on, I didn't really know what I was doing with it when I started it, and really I should have been finishing off all the other projects I have on the go...but I finished it so quickly I made another one too...no patterns just a crochet hook (4mm) and pink and white and pale pink and pink left over bits of wool. I experimented with them a lot, I made them ear-flappy hats, like I had as a kid. they should fit the twins nicely, if my sister isn't too embarrassed to put them on them! I think they are cute, but I understand that not everyone likes what I like and I'm ok with that. I just say to her each time, if she can't use it give it to someone who can.

On the first one I made the pom-pom old style using two disks of cardboard, seriously painful and annoying when it fell apart while tying it up, second one I made this morning using a Spotlight pom-pom maker, a much easier process not involving cutting out cardboard:) Pom Pom makers:

I also got to use my new Birch split ring stitch markers, I know, not gorgeous beaded glittery jewelled lovelies that I've seen around the net, but they do the job and they don't get heavy or snag the wool:)

And now, to talk about the new crochet project I am starting...
These lovelies came from Bendigo Wool :

And I'm trying hard to make lil hexies...I love love love the little hexies from Attic24's lovely hexagon-howto.

Here are some of the practice ones I did, full of mistakes and perhaps I shouldn't put the two browns next to each other, but none-the-less, once I get the technique down, they will look great and I hope will make a lovely warm blankie for our brown, brown lounge.
I havent yet started anything for my May ornament for the FOSAL...oops.

What was I doing again!?

Sometimes it surprises me how completely off track life can get. One moment I'm cruising through days. I haven't been working much and money was tight this month, But I was reading, blogging, sewing, making, cooking, cleaning and cutting out at the speed of light. I even found time to visit friends, play in the garden, learn to crochet. Oh the joy!
And then theres this past week.
Mum went into hospital. I made lot's of nervous Granny squares during lot's of nervous waits. Everything is waiting with hospitals. Waiting in admission to fill out paperwork, waiting for doctors to assess, waiting for tests to be run, waiting for showers and toilets, waiting for meals, waiting for the Angio-gram to be done, waiting for results. More tests, more waiting, lot's of waiting. Lot's of wonky Granny squares. Still waiting.  At least she can come home to Dad for one night over the weekend. We'll call that shore leave ;) before she has to go back into Hospital Sunday night for further tests to be done next week so, I'm predicting lot's more waiting and more Granny squares.

This week at home, nothing got cleaned, washed or cooked. Nothing got sewn or cut out, Nothing got made or blogged or even photographed. The garden forgot to be watered.

The other evening, I managed to rapidly (less than 5 mins) photograph the few items I had previously made to be mailed down to the Edwards family to take across to the Vietnam orphans. They should reach them in time, say Aus post..hmm I hope so!

I made 6 Baby Wraptops with some matching wide legged loungin' around baby pants out of cotton fabrics from my stash.

These I made the teal roses fabric into pants and the Baby Wraptop and used the pastel rainbow fabric for the bias on the wrap top and as contrast on the pants to match.

For these I made the pants from the same pastel rainbow fabric as the Baby Wraptops bias and used the pink fabric as contrast on the pants because to match the pink from the Baby Wraptop.

For these I made the pants from the same pastel rainbow fabric as the Baby Wraptops bias and used the pastel rainbow fabric in a horizontal direction as contrast on the pants because I had run out of the pink from the Baby Wraptop.

For these I made the pants from the same pastel rainbow fabric as the Baby Wraptops bias and used the teal roses fabric as contrast on the pants.

For these I used some of the teal rose print fabric to make bias to match the pants. The pants used the pink roses fabric in contrasting bands to match the main fabric for the Baby Wraptop.

These ones I had unfortunately run out of the teal roses fabric bias but instead used three pastel rainbow hearts appliqued on the Baby Wraptop and 3 on the left leg of the pants to match the pastel rainbow bias I had made and used on the Baby Wraptop.

I also made a couple of dresses and a skirt from some bright coloured 100% Cotton fabric from Mum.

I then appliqued 2 small sleeveless tops and made 2 matching pairs of shorts.

I also appliqued and  finished off  a pair of yellow pants my Mum had cut out a long time ago, (also listed in my UFO box list) and sent them along too. They had a very large GOLD paint fabric makers mark across them, I guess she didn't notice when she cut them out? It was huge! and GOLD! It said 100% Cotton proudly made in the peoples republic of china right across one whole leg. Oddly, the pants dimensions don't make sense either, so, I re-cut the pants, smaller, but using the pattern I made up for the Loungin' around pants. I then cut out an elastic casing for the waistband using some brightly coloured striped fabric from my stash and used the same bright striped fabric to Applique Stars and a big stripe across the leg to cover the massive Makers stamp that not only would not wash out, could be clearly seen from the other side of the fabric! The main fabric is a bright yellow fabric bought to make shorts for us girls back in the 80's for  a Primary school swimming carnival. They then got used for every swimming and athletics carnival. These baby pants were cut out from the leftover fabric after 2 of us had shorts each, and an enormous flag. Go GOLD! Now they are going to somewhere they can be worn and played in! YAY! And strike another one off my UFO list!

I tried to get our school to ask the kids to collect a few things, I thought if each student brought in a new dummy, bottle or an exercise book or a small something, it would add up to lot's and spread the load across many.  But the school executive put the Kibosh on the idea..something about already supporting too many charities already:( that also makes me sad:(

I feel so guilty! I wish I could have done more, made more, and sent more. I really wanted to :( I had not had time to cut out or sew the boy's things I had planned to make to send down. I also wanted to go buy some exercise books and school related stuff and some Savlon and dummies too, but never made it to a shop this whole week. It is such a heartfelt worthy cause. I hope to God they had enough stuff from other people or that maybe I can make it up the next time they are able to go back across to Vietnam. My husband tried to help me by saying what I made was plenty, but it really wasn't much in the grand scheme of things they need. I just can't stop thinking about all those babies and children in orphanages. Do families ever come and take them home to love and care and raise them? Does that happen in other countries? The thought of children growing up in an orphanage long-term instead of a family makes me so very sad. I just watched a youtube video of a Vietnam orphanage, I want to take them all home and love them. I just can't stop crying. Here in Australia, people are desperate to adopt, with many willing parents waiting years and years on an endless list to love a child. I know it's considered bad to take kids away from their own culture, but to grow up in an orphanage is better? I guess I am shocked that orphanages even need to exist! Today is a desperately sad day! The world is just bogging me down today. I need to find some happy..I'll go in search.

Taa Daa...February sewing with Knit Challenge Completed! - and other progress.

I found some time to finish my top for My Favourite's 12 month's 12 sewing Challenges, February Sewing with Knit Fabric Challenge. I'm still not happy with it entirely, especially the missed stitching of the double needle that is continuing, but it is finished! I still love the colour of it, although it looks like Pyjamas (Thanks for saying that Husband...hehehe).

I loved the cuff in the pattern picture, but now I'm not so sure..it seems awfully large. If I were to make it again  I would certainly make these smaller.

I stitched on some buttons just above the split in the cuff. I found them in a button jar that came from my mum's house. They are clear plastic, but swirly, and they seem to pick up and dance with the colours of the top underneath...hard to see in photos though.

Progress on the March FOSAL Ornament - Pattern chosen :)
I've decided to stitch up a bauble using this free pattern from Better Homes and Gardens.
I have also decided to stitch it up in purples rather than the blue they are using in theirs. I am not starting it until March, but it is kitted up waiting until then. Forgive the photo, I took it with my phone camera, because the proper cameras battery is charging.

Progress on the Shelves and Sewing Room :)

Sewing room looks like a bomb hit it. (meh!) Lot's of sorting and shifting and moving going on.

The whiter than White brighter than Bright shelves are all painted blindingly reflective white and were at any minute going to be constructed. I came in for some air-con and water...not blogging hehehe...and as I was typing, Husband (out in the hot hot outdoors) let out some cursing...and now he is off to go buy or do something...I'm not sure I should ask what went wrong. I snuck out there to take a photo of the progress, only to have the warning, Battery Exhausted (that makes two, three of us!) come up. It is certainly a very large project. Progress Halted...albeit Temporarily.

OK It's now 9pm on a Sunday night and the construction phase got moved into our lounge room. I'm not too hopeful this project will have a conclusion tonight but I do not believe that we will be putting up with  construction in the lounge room for too long. 

Here are some phone camera pics of the construction phase.

Yes, we know theres a Christmas garland and Christmas Lights still up..they somehow got missed when we packed up everything else, and are now jokingly are being referred to as the Easter lights...(they'll be gone soon I promise.

It's so very very Large!

So that's as far as we got tonight. It's a giant white skeleton. Weekend is over and Husband is back to work tomorrow... At least it is at a stage where I can cut out the material for the back and attach it, if I don't get called into work tomorrow, and Husband can attach the backing sheets of MDF tomorrow evening. God knows how we are going to angle it into the tiny hallway and then into the Spare room! - I'm expecting tears...husband says it will be fine, but it's so very big!