things to make and do

my mum is coming over for the entire month of october. i was supposed to be going back to work for that time but i got major separation anxiety and felt totally overwhelmed by it so i kicked it to the curb....

so with a spare set of hands i'm going to set myself some lofty goals. mainly packing up the house but also lots of crafting. i haven't been very crafty as of late (although i have just crocheted her a little jumper dress which i'll photograph soon) and i have a fairly lengthy list!

i have decided that for Lottie Pearl's first birthday I want to make her something instead of buying her something. She won't even have a clue anyway. And i'm guessing that my crafting time will be reduced to even less with a busy toddler on my hands next year so here are some of the things i'm thinking about...........

dolly and clothes
dolly in suitcase
fold out pillow bed
birdie wings
sock monkey
dress

do you have any ideas on dealing with your kids first birthday? will you say 'no presents' or 'books only' or maybe even 'handmade' only? have you already bought some presents? do share!

these modern times

how lucky, as stay at home mamas, are we to be able to connect with others without even leaving our own four walls? my mum speaks a lot about isolation when she was in a brand new suburb out in the sticks with 2 small children. it really affected her experience.

thanks hatchling for thinking of me and reminding me that there are so many lovely connections to be had out there in this world AND that i shouldn't be so scared of moving "home"

meanwhile - whilst i wait for overlocker lessons to start - my old bernina is getting a work out! bibs, bibkerchiefs and bloomers are all being furiously sewn up. i'm really enjoying cutting patterns, taking my time and doing things neatly. even if i have to do it in many stages, across several days!

baby anderson's shower

outrageously yummy high tea and some of the patches everyone made for baby anderson's quilt

baby anderson

baby anderson is due in september and we're having his baby shower tomorrow a couple of streets over! it will be so awesome to see my old, good friend Rus as a doting, first time father.

i made a pram blanket from beautiful bendigo wool which is australia's only grown, dyed, spun and sold wool (most yarn companies send australian wool to be processed in china). i hope baby anderson has many years of pram strolling, snuggling, spewing and picnicing with the blanky. it really was made with love.

we also had to make a patchwork square to be sewn up on the day into a quilt for baby anderson. i used much loved scraps of mine - bits and bobs i've hoarded for years and some picked up in tokyo. i'm excited to see how it turns out and what everyone else will create!

off the needles

two 'man' beanies off the knitting needles...one for matt and one for pop john!

i use the 'purl soho winter beanies for everyone' pattern which is SO simple yet perfect and open to many variations! i highly recommend it. these are fairly plain versions but I've enjoyed making versions with simple stripes and bright block colours. they are great for my tired brain as they are easy yet satisfying!

next up! crochet blanky for baby anderson due in september....i'm looking forward to it!

teeny tiny textile

one day i'll be as awesome as sheila hicks but right now there is a large cavernous space between my weaving abilities and hers.....

so this is "one step closer to sheila" - an homage to all those friendship bracelets i made as a child and sold from a wrapped cardboard box for 5 cents as a lucky dip with the girl over the road, Jadee Dodd. we used to sit in the sun, our knees all scabby from rollerskating stacks, holding the embroidery thread between our toes as we plaited and knotted away.

a teeny tiny piece of knotmaking.

BUT the real fun starts when I do my full day workshop intro to machine knitting at popcraft. this will be a long life goal achieved and definitely one step closer to sheila!

colour me happy

its thursday - almost time for the LONG weekend....even though mum has gone, we've had a fab couple of days. i'm really enjoying all the giggling sessions Lottie Pearl and I seem to get up to these days. kinda like we have a continual private joke about nothing but which makes us lose it every time! i'm never shy about playing games with her on a bus or in public even though i must sound mad!

i'm hoping to finish off the handmade albums i've been working on of Lottie's birth and first few days home and i'm also hoping to go and put an overlocker on layby!!! *eeep* it feels a little crazy buying something so huge when i have such little crafting time but from all accounts these things save you STACKS of time......especially when sewing for the mini lady.

and on a more existential note - do you find it a positive or a negative to always dream or wish you were doing something different, being somewhere else? does it mean you are never happy with right now or do you think it is part of life to dream about your future?

apologies - can't remember where on ETSY i found these tin cups......

binky + whats in yr bag?

turquoise seems to be a coincedental theme as of late......

this is whats in my bag (encouraged via Dos Family)

and since we've given away the dummy, Lottie Pearl has taken to a disgusting pale pink satin blanky thing with a bear head. It was given to her......I don't know why I find it so gross (maybe the already stinky sucked on ears) but in case she gets extra attached to her 'Binky' I thought it smart if I could make them myself. So tonight we'll test if she likes this! It has spent a few nights under my pillow to get my smell on it......

very selfish but it makes a mama feel better if it is homemade. waaaay better than super-synthetic-light-a-match-to-it-and-it-will-explode version. plus, it was nice to use the sewing machine for the first time in a long time!

5 minute crafting

i miss craft. i miss the luxury of spending a day with all my shit sprawled over our table and just pecking at bits and pieces as inspiration hits me.

so this hama bead necklace was just a moment of loveliness where my old friend Craft and I sat down to catch up. We had nothing original to say. We just reminded each other that even though we don't get to see each other that often anymore we still think of each other, often.

5 minute crafting is where its at these days!

postal pleasures

a package of love from way out west! thankyou ninny!

happy socks, beautiful felting wool (colours of course are perfect!), organic seeds and a paper duck all wrapped up and posted in hand-printed paper.

5 minute crafting - here i come! (more on that later.....)

making & doing

been really getting stuck into some sewing lately. I guess I know I have to appreciate this time where Lottie Pearl is napping loads and isn't all that mobile. So i'm crafting ahead....

yet another great pattern from simple sewing for baby and I delighted in sewing it over a couple of days and made sure I followed it step by step and gave it my best.

quite happy with the results but Lottie's head definitely needs to grow a bit more! Lucky we have a long winter ahead....

can't believe it

can't believe i managed to start, finish AND clean up a craft project all in one afternoon! particularly with Lottie Pearl around.

after a rather overwhelming yesterday, today has been blissful. full of lots of naps, lots of smiles, lots of sitting and spying the world, lots of nappy off time and even a bath!

since buying a pram the other day and now knowing what i require from a nappy bag i have made one (and didn't even need to go to spotlight!) from a vintage pillowcase and other odds and ends. it has a spot for everything we need just for a quick getaway in the pram. the bare essentials if you will!

i feel very proud and satisfied!

(this bag was inspired by Lotta Jansdotter's nappy bag design from Simple Sewing For Baby and yes! she is the inspiration behind Lottie's name!)

decorations

i must admit - even though i'm not buying ONE single present this year (our thought is that we are hand crafting a BABY this year for everyone!) i always do get excited about decorations and seeing what all sorts of crafty people are getting up to out there. i particularly love the fact that christmassy things don't HAVE to be red and green......

it is also super fun looking at all the northern hemisphere blogs as they enter the depths of their christmassy winters. all that knitting, cosiness and bunkering down is such a contrast to the high temperatures building here!

pretty garland found at whip up

due date

today is her estimated due date and like we knew all along, she'd never be as compliant to arrive before or on this day :)

so despite her becoming very heavy and all the annoying calls from everyone asking "have you had your baby yet?" i will take advantage of this time and continue with all manner of things - namely crafting and napping!

beautiful mobile by Cocon found via 3 Sheets

ingredients

the ingredients for her mobile....

sweet sunday

waiting for folk to arrive - we've got bbqing and rugby on today's agenda!

that and a little crafting. will continue working on the mobile i'm making for the mini lady.

above is our prized jute carpet we bought a while back (hello belly!) and also a necklace i made in about 5 seconds last night before i went to bed. i love wearing jewellery but my habits will have to change with a little baby around. my theory is, is that if i make everything suckable/chewable or kinda like a toy i'll be okay!

happy sunday whatever it is that you are doing!

necklace swap

nina and i decided to swap handmade necklaces. she recieved mine yesterday and thankfully it makes the cut! i used fabric i bought in tokyo and some other bits and pieces.

can't wait to see what mine looks like when it arrives.

just bought some patchwork implements (a rotary cutter, a cutting board and a square template) as I'm going to try my hand at making a playmat for the mini lady. i've got pretty bad preggy induced rsi in my right hand at the moment so i thought i'd swap things up from my crochet to some sewing. wish me luck and stay tuned for some progress shots!

pram mobile

crocheted around a bird bell, threaded on some felted and wooden beads between the yo yo's and tada! something garishly bright that jingles - hopefully she likes it!

cold n' cosy

had lici visit from canberra to see the bump.........she couldn't keep her hands off it! I guess we've known each other since we are 12 and it's just a tad surreal for her :) I still sometimes look down and can't believe it! we went for a winter bbq at maroondah reservoir and it was beautiful and very very fresh!
spent a raging saturday night........kee picked up some antibiotics for his ear infection and i went to town with my new jumbo size clover yoyo maker. this thing is addictive! i'm making a mobile to hang from bub's pram and will thread them with felt and wooden beads and a few bells. it felt so lovely to be making this out of fabric i bought in tokyo and fabric i've been stashing for years.....i do love making little things for her. it's strange - it feels like a tangible way of loving her.

even though we haven't met her yet, we love her lots.

yo-yo delusion

why is it in times of stress or trouble, one tends to think of outrageously time consuming and laborious craft projects. one deludes themselves into thinking something can just be 'whipped up' and that all of the usual crafting obstacles will magically melt away and you will transform into some goddess of home made goodness?

it's a big mistake.

so instead of that giant sized quilt i'd LOVE to make for my daughter due in november (who already has a charmingly suitable quilt from kee's childhood) i may just give into temptation a little and make a kitschy number like those pictured above.

(image found here)