Swimming

This is where we have been spending some of our school holidays. At a holiday swim programme.

The monkeys have been enjoying themselves and are very tired!

It's a nice place to shelter from all the rain we have been having here.

Granny Stripe Blanket

I always enjoy reading the Attic 24 blog and love the colourful creations that Lucy makes. So after an inspiring look at her blog I ordered some of the yarn from the UK to complete the Granny Stripe Blanket.

I am self taught with crochet and find it difficult to follow a pattern. But I found this one great to follow. I'm giving it a go with Stacey from Polka Dot Daze. We met today to work on it together (I had made a head start). I love meeting with other crafters and enjoy making stuff together, oh and also enjoying a cup of tea (or two) and a piece of chocolate cake!

I'm loving it.

Little Crochet Skirt

After a quick visit to Spotlight for some fabric, I made a skirt for my little monkey. I found the pattern in Octobre and it is the first pattern I have used from this magazine. After deciphering the pattern from a puzzle of about fifty others, I found it very simple to make.

However I felt it needed something a little extra. So after some browsing in this book I was able to develop a plan. This book has great instructions on how to crochet onto fabric and I found them easy to follow. I did a chain stitch along the edge of the hem and then used that to crochet onto. Simple. I used # 22 pattern for this skirt.

Here is the finished product and little monkey is happy with her new skirt.

I think this would also look great on a white skirt with white crochet on the edge.



Cardigans

A long time ago I decided that I would like to knit myself a cardigan that I could pop on at night when it got chilly. This was when we were living in New Zealand and it got pretty chilly at night. So I chose a pattern and some lovely wool and started. However, I love having more than one project on the go and pick up and put down my knitting for sometimes long periods.

Then I got stuck! I am an experienced knitter and can work out most things. But I got stuck on the collar and then got very frustrated. so I put down the cardigan and didn't pick it up again!

Of course I found it again and remembered why I wanted to knit it in the first place and we were on again. I thought about how I wanted it to look when I was finished and just knitted it that way. I have to knit the collar three times to get in right, but here it is.

I am happy with the final result. It just needs some buttons to be complete. Just in time for summer!

Pattern : Patons Book 1296 Textured Kimono Jacket

Yarn : Cleckheaton Country Naturals 8 ply

Colour : 1813 Blue with a brown fleck

I have also finished my daughter's Kina cardigan as well. It was a really easy knit on one circular needle in one piece. I bought cotton yarn so she can wear it this summer.

 

I think I will have to knit one for my other daughter too. Thank you RetroMummy for showing me this lovely pattern.

Pattern : Kina - Kids Tricots

Yarn : Moda Vera Sombre

Colour : Purple

New Toy

I have been wanting to get something for a long time and finally last week I was able to get it!

I really enjoy making clothes and all sorts of little things for my girls and up till now I have been just using my machine. However, I wanted to get a more professional finish for their clothes and knew I had to get an overlocker to achieve this. I was so happy to get this one after talking to everyone I know who has an overlocker. I think people were getting a little sick of me asking loads of question!. I think this one will suit me just fine.

Lots of sewing ahead!

Little Owls

I always love reading the Attic 24 Blog and saw a great project in this book that they were completing.

Both of my girls have been learning to knit. I had resisted asking them and they finally came to me and asked that I teach them. I cast on for them and they completed a few rows and then lost interest. It is hard to keep going to complete a whole project. But after showing them the little owls, they were hooked again and both managed to finish one off in a day (with some help from Mum).

We added Some felt wings too so they can fly. Little monkey has already started another one to be a little friend to her Owl. There is a little cat too in the book, perhaps we should try that one too.  

After a quick trip to my local fabric shop, I pulled out a few of my Ottobre magazine and made a skirt for small monkey. I had a subscription to Ottobre for a while, but had not made anything from it before. I always love the designs, but struggle to find good fabric for the girls. Especially stretch fabric.

This is what faced me when I started:





Can you work out which one I should trace?? Crikey!! Luckily I managed to work it out and the very sparse directions to finish the skirt. I will take a photo of it tomorrow on the lucky girl.

Finished Quilt

I have finished the baby girl quilt ready for the baby shower this Sunday.

I am really happy with the machine quilting that I was able to do on it. I am usually a hand quilting girl, but I wanted this to be more robust and able to go through the washing machine. I have only machine quilted a couple of times and this is definitely the best result. I am getting to know how to achieve a good result on my machine more easily.

The back is the same pink gingham as the border. I bought two metres of it, as I know I will use it in another project.

I bought the fabric at a lovely quilt shop in Killara.  It was wonderful to find a shop with so much fabric that I would use and so close to where I live as well. The two ladies in the shop were so helpful and friendly too.

I am discovering lots of new shops close by. I went to a wool shop nearby this week to buy my favourite needles. I was happy to find them so close, as I had been buying them in Bowral and really needed to plan for those purchases!

I have started two new knitting projects (I get bored with just one on the go). One for myself and one for the bigger of my two monkeys.