persistent or down right stubborn?

Day 1. Late evening.

I was sleepy, but determined to make something. Mistake #1

Cutting went well, all pieces for Simplicity 2922 dress version with flat sleeves ready to go, I decided to keep going and see if I could finish it to wear tomorrow. Mistake #2

Shoulder seams, done. Perfect.

Neck band sewn on back to front. Mistake #3. (Note to self, should have given up here)

Neck band facing attached. Realise bobbin not catching thread properly. Mistake #4. Unpick, retread and do again.

Overlock back seam. Realise one of the threads had snapped back at the beginning. Mistake #5. Unpick, retread and do again.

Seriously, you'd think I would have given up by now. Nope.

Sew side seam. Success.

Overlock side seam while not paying attention to hungry overlocker munching away on fabric that has accidently folded under. Mistake #6. Giant hole in bottom now making dress a tunic.

Attach neck band to dress. Realise bobbin not catching thread properly again. Mistake #7. Unpick, retread and do again.

Then I gave up for the night, threw the should have been a dress but now a short tunic, into the corner and went to bed, about an hour later than I should have, surprised I didn't somehow sew myself to the fabric.

Day 2

New day, new start.

Get the zip out I bought. Why is it black??? I was supposed to get white. Mistake #8.

End of day 2, tunic thrown back in the corner.

Day 3

Armed with new zipper, sew zipper to back and manage to sew last remaining seams and hems without incident.

I'm still wondering why I persisted finishing the tunic, especially considering the fabric cost a grand total of $4.80, but surprisingly, after all the swearing under my breath, I'm happy with the outcome, it fits well, and there is no evidence of the number of mistakes I made while making it...

Let's hope the Portfolio dress by Lisette that I have to make next is a bit less mistake-ridden.

craft fair 2011

While the big kds headed to the Powerhouse on Sunday, Eva and I hit the Craft Fair for a spot of shopping. Doing a fair bit of damage to the bank account in a couple of short hours...

Iron on transfers by Motif Creations

From top; Nikki's new book signed by the lady herself, Kelani fabric, Make it Perfect's Uptown Girl pattern from Kelani and two skeins of Zpagetti

Bits galore from Saffron Craig including a cat softie pack, Beetle Bugs red for Liam, Gingko Blossoms red and Dandelions pink for pants for Eva, and five half meter mixed pieces of the new Imaginary Flowers range with some Beetle Bugs in gorgeous deep purple and green tones.

snickerdoodles

Yesterday, up before the crack of dawn, Eva, Dean and I headed to the Sydney Children's Hospital for surgery and tests to be done under anesthetic. It's hard to explain to a 3 month old why she can't have her bottle she so desperately wants, but thank goodness she got into theater early so was only upset for a short time.

recovering under the Ripple blanket Mummy finally pulled back out of the knitting WIP box

Surgery done, a super quick recovery meaning we could come home yesterday afternoon and now hopefully one last batch of surgery in four weeks. Just like her big sister who had the same surgery at 12 months old, by last night, she was happy, smiling last night and back to her bubbly self.

So after a big day yesterday, I proclaimed today a stay home day. A day to put all the washing away, let Eva recuperate in her own bed, finish some pants for Eva, and even do some baking with my little Masterchef Liam.

"is it done yet?, is it done yet?, is it done yet?"...

I think the only reason he likes cooking is so he can eat the batter...

finally, a nice big batch of Snickerdoodles for our afternoon tea.

peach.pickles

Pattern: Pickles Leg Warmers

Yarn: Lincraft Amalfi in Peach Mix

Raveled here

I can't claim productivity on these guys, I found them stashed at the bottom of my yarn box, finished a looong time ago for Isabella and they were just waiting the ends to be sewn in. Now they are out, ends gone and worn this cold winter morning.

fun

we've been busy this week...

graduating Term 2 of Soccajoey's... check out the video of him today, my little Beckham want to be...



going to our 1st school sports carnival followed by a Magic Show at school,

and an afternoon at a(nother) birthday party today followed by doing some artwork for Poppy's birthday this week.

Tomorrow, Dean is taking the crazy two to the Powerhouse Museum while Eva and I cruise the Craft and Quilt Fair, then it's home to get ready for little Eva's hospital visit on Monday.

Tuesday I plan on sitting down. All day.

ruffled

1 lonely ball of Lion Brand Ruffles

1 simple scarf pattern

1 bucket load of patience with the yarn

1 evening of knitting

1 new Ravelled project

1 less ball of yarn in my stash

cheeky

All wrapped in bed, getting ready for a nap, but at 12 weeks old, Miss Eva, the cheeky little muffin, has worked out how to rock the cradle by pushing her legs up and down to make her beautiful ball that hangs above her shake back and forth. Oh the giggles when she sees it moving!. (Customised "Evangeline" ball from my lovely friend Helen at Ensparkle, too pretty to be packed away until Christmas)

(oh the concentration to get that little ball to move)

She's also a "sometimes" dummy girl. Sometimes we like it. Sometimes we don't. On the occasion she does want it to go to sleep, she sucks like crazy and just as she is about to nod off, spits it out of her mouth at such a force that it flies across her cradle, to be lost in the foot of her blankets. Cheeky I tell 'ya. So a new dummy holder cortesy of some ribbon, snaps, and a safety pin to keep her dummy attached to the blanket so we can find it.

Lucky she's cute... cheeky girl.

coastal.breeze

Pattern: Make it Perfect Coastal Breeze

Fabric: Jersey from Remnant Warehouse

j.by.k

Pattern: Stylish Dress Book 2 dress J
Fabric: Japanese cotton from Spotlight

The pretty pictures and dresses in the Stylish Dress Book 2 completely made me buy it, ignoring common sense since I am unable to read Japanese, I don't fit any of the sizes and a distinct lack of know-how in re-sizing patterns.

Luckily I have a lovely friend in Ms Kristen who has made this dress just a few times before (six!). On Monday she let Eva and I invade her lounge room to borrow her modified pattern and now I have my version own version of "J".

hotties

Our entries into The Hottie Challenge are in the post, making their way to CurlyPop's house today. When I signed up for the challenge I decided that I would involve the kids, using the experience to explain why we fundraise for medical research and in particular the heart lung transplant program, so here are our three entries...

Liam's penguin, complete with flapping wings and felt-y feet

Bella's delicious cupcake

and my "Hot" hottie cover

After seeing some of the fabulous covers that Cam has been highlighting over on her blog, I'm not sure mine are quite up to the standard of some entries, but the kids loved them, so I'm hoping someone else might too.

6

Happy 6th Birthday Princess

playdates

There's a party on this weekend.

A certain little one is turning 6 on Sunday.
Matching Oliver & S Playdate dresses for her and her sister as requested, pressed and ready to wear.

2008's Oliver & S Tea Party dress for her Tea Party, 2009's Princess Burda 2480 for her dress up party and 2010's Oliver & S Jump Rope dress

mistake.rib.school.scarf

pattern: mistake rib school scarf (ravelled)
yarn: Lincraft Cosy Wool in the school color's navy

Mistake Rib School Scarf

Two strands DK/8 ply held together

5mm needles

• Cast on 36 stitches
• * K2, P2 * repeat between ** until end of row, end with a P1
• Repeat row until desired length and cast off.

Ready to wrap around Bella's neck and snuggle nice and warm, well once I have sewn her name tag on, cause this kid looses EVERYTHING at school.

winter.patricia

Pattern: another Patricia tunic by Sis Boom
Fabric: Timeless Treasures from The Remnant Warehouse

My fourth Patricia tunic, but in a winter cotton instead of the summer weight and colours I've used before and a couple other changes:

• facing placed inside
• 28 1/2" body length
• 16" arm length
• reduced sleeves by 2" for a more fitted sleeve
• removed the side slits

baby.yeti

Pattern: Baby Yeti by Berroco Design Team (ravelled)

Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake Chunky in 631

Size: 0-6 months and sleeveless

half.granny.shawl

pattern: half granny square shawl (ravelled)
yarn: Araucania Ranco Solid in 486 Khaki

lazy.monday

baked oatmeal
ABC for Kids
knitting on the lounge
planning sewing projects
keeping warm under blankets
enjoying an extra long weekend

Mug Rug #1

Ok so I totally didn't get what the deal was with "mug rugs". I've seen them popping up all over blogs and flickr lately, even swaps happening, they are just a large coaster, right?

But now I kind of get it... a little "something" for a gift, my first test at making a dresden circle (if that's what it's even called) and an instant sewing fix, cut and sewn in one night.

I made this rug up using some Denyse Schmidt fabric from Spotlight as well as some linen and matching red homespun. An added a hand embroidered "TEA" and quilted in semi circles, all ready to be gift wrapped.

After some flickr browsing I came across some amazing "mug rugs", and I think the appeal to them is like "doll quilts" which I've also never made, it's a chance to try some different quilting skills, use up pieces of fabric, all without having a bunch of quilts laying around.

Sparkly Party Skirt

A simple skirt in super sparkly salmon coloured organza fabric and lined with satin, both from The Remnant Warehouse made to wear at a birthday party of one of her new Kindergarten friends. The Remnant Warehouse have a great range of fabrics including dance fabrics, it's like a kids heaven in there with all the sequins, satins, furs, bright colours etc.

the party included a pony who did tricks then all the girls got a pony ride, hair done and makeup... I hope they aren't expecting anything fancy for Isabella's birthday this month in comparison...

(Note to self, must remember to take camera with me to parties not reply on bad-quality-iphone)

Make It Perfect Kid's Vest

Pattern: Kid's Vest from Make it Perfect book

Made for the Monkey boy, a super warm vest with grey drill for the outside and a cute spooky halloween print for the interior. (Why do we have Halloween fabric in Spotlight in Australia in June?).

I wish I had realised that this would turn out to be completely reversible, I would have found a reversible open end zip. Oh well, next time... The fit is great, plenty of room for warm winter tops underneath, and with only a couple pattern pieces I had it cut out and sewn all in one evening once the babes were all in bed.

I've been on a crafting spree in the evenings, making the most of Miss Eva now sleeping through the night, this week as well as the vest I have made an Oliver & S Playdate dress, Make It Perfect Coastal Breeze dress, finishing knitting Bella's school scarf, and just have the hem to do on a cute dress for Eva. All just waiting to be photographed and blogged.

Next up on the cutting table, some matching cargo pants for Liam from the Make it Perfect book.

Saturday fun

This morning after swimming lessons were done, all six of us piled into the car... yes you read that right SIX.

The cat needed a trip to the vet.

So we sacrificed our arms to the claws of death, squeezed KC's furry butt into the tiny carrier, and proceeded to be meowed at the whole drive there. I'm sure she was trying to make a deal "If I promise not to vomit ever again will you take me home PLEASEEEE"

Restrained family members arrived safely

Isabella and Liam marveled at a dog the size of a horse who came in just after us and KC amused herself doing laps of the carrier to see if there might have been a way out that she hadn't found in the past 14 years.

Quick checkup, blood test and a couple of needles later, with no change from $250 (cats should be on the Medicare Safety Net with the rest of the family... expensive little things) we made it home. Cat traumatised from the experience and sulking under the bed for the rest of the afternoon, a sick feeling Bella plonking on the lounge to watch Octonauts on repeat,

and Liam and I built a giant train track around the lounge room

Weekends with the family are awesome.... now to abandon them for the evening and go out for dinner with a girlfriend!

New Supplies

Lincraft Cozy Wool in Navy almost transformed into a warm school scarf

Morris Pure 10ply in 1005 (Sooty) wound up in a ball and waiting for me to choose a beanie for it to become just for me
Araucania Ranco Solid in 486 (Khaki) curling it's way into a Half Granny Shawl inspired by seeing one being made at Craft Group (Ravelry link)
Heirloom Cotton 8ply in 688 (Salmon)
and Snuggly Snowflake in 631 (White) for a Baby Yeti jumper to keep Eva warm during Winter (Ravelry link)

Oliver & S Playdate dress pattern
Denyse Schmidt Picnics and Fairgrounds fabrics, courtesy of the new Spotlight that opened yesterday 10mins from home.
The yellow was picked by Bella for party dresses for her and Eva.

Now excuse me while I stare at my new supplies a bit longer deciding which to tackle finishing first....