Blogtoberfest Day 11: Sunday Sickie

That's right - I'm chucking a sickie today...

No, I don't have a sick note from my doctor or my mum, but I'm nursing two sick kids and a head cold myself. While I did think of being the life of the festival and blog hopping a bit to share some inspirational snippets from othe festival goers, I simply can't be bothered today. Sorry people. I am too snuffly and tired to do the clicking.

But I am happy to announce I am already a blogtoiberfest winner, thanks to a fantastic giveaway over at Sweet Tidings. So in the true spirit of things, I will finally make a decision on what I will give away on my blog, and you will be able to enter next Thursday, Blogtoberfest 15. Details will be posted then.

Blogtoberfest Day 10: Frills and flounce

Okay so this could be classed as cheating - talk about a project one day and show it the next! But I am struggling to play Mum and be crafty every day so this will have to do for today.

This little dress is a touch big on Madelyn as you can see, but at least I know she won't grow out of it in the blink of an eye like she does everything else, and if it really bothered me, I could shift the buttons to make the bodice more snug for now.

Poor Madelyn has a nasty cold (and horrendous cough) so I wasn't going to push her to sit nicely and pose especially after the night we had, but here are some action shots of her in her new dress. As she tried to crawl off, she got her knee caught on it and face-planted... I have also promised her I won't make her any more dresses now until she can walk, unless they are the shorter type of dress that she can wear with little bloomer pants and won't hinder her crawling. She is trying to pull herself up already and the few times I have held her hands her little feet race off in a march, so somehow I don't think she will take as long as her big brother to master that.

PS. Does anyone know why I can never get my pictures to enlarge at the click of the mouse? I used to have it working a long time ago and thought the trick was to not have the photos too large but now that isn't even working...hmmmmm.... any ideas?

Blogtoberfest Day 9: Glad you said blue!

Just scraping in for today's post before bed (no help from a certain little kitty who nearly got her paw stitched to my baby dress!....oh Jane, she's fine really!). That's right, today I have finally made the baby dress I have been longing to see on my baby girl ever since that edition of the Ottobre magazine landed in my letterbox. I've had the fabric for months.

The main fabric is an oilily reprint I bought from etsy, a slightly indulgent but must have purchase! The contrast is a good quality fine cord I bought to matchat a local dressmaking shop, however when I got it home and sat the two fabrics together for a few days I wasn't so sure they "went". Then I dug the pink out of my stash, something I bought from Spotlight aaaaaages ago for my niece's doll clothes and thought for a moment that it went better, but I hadn't really wanted an all pink dress. It turns out that my first choice (and yours) was right. For one thing the quality matches that of the main fabric (sorry Spotlight lovers, but the quality of that pink stuff was not really up to scratch), and it really pops at the back where the ruffles are.

Sorry I don't have a photo to show as yet. It's buttonhole day tomorrow, and hopefully it will then be ready for some modelling action. My pintucks aren't as neat as I'd hoped but I am using the excuse that it was my first go at them and the busy fabric hid my markings. I still think it will look super cute on, and I did the next size up this time (since this dress only just fit around her chest despite it supposedly being the perfect measurement for her) so this one should last until we are blessed with summery weather.

Blogtoberfest Day 8: Furry visitors!

I have been saving this topic for a rather non-crafty day like today when I really don't have much to show. All I did today was go to mothers group, do some washing, wash the biggest furry visitor with Austy, do some food shopping, make baby food and cook dinner (as well as feed a teething baby a hundred times since she won't eat her solids with those sharp little canines trying to push their way through her tender gums).

I also worked on that mochalicious zest blanket but it would be rather boring if I just showed you pictures of that with a few more rows added each day, so I'll save that for when there's a lot more done. So far I'm about a quarter of teh way through. I like the way my pattern is knitting up, I love the chocolate colour, but the wool is horrid. Okay maybe that's an exaggeration but it's certainly not as soft as some of the lovely stuff I have been knitting with lately. As a result I am thinking that it will most likely end up as a pretty blanket for our future kitten's hideyhole, and I have the perefect sewing pattern to make a matching cat tent for it to go in. It should go nicely in our living room and give our newest family member soemwhere to escape to when the kidlets are having their roudiest moments. Our smallest furry visitor has shown us that hideyholes are very imporant for little kittens trapped in a room with two young children!

So now, let me introduce our furry visitors. First up, the big one, who I have featured here a few times before as we love to look after her when her people are exploring the countryside. Meet Lulu, a very playful, very friendly and quite huggable retriever. She loves kids, and Austy always has a ball with her. She's not too fond of baths though, depspite the fact I wash her in a toddler pool filled with lovely warm water and rinse of with fresh buckets of equally warm water. She is always excited to see me bring out the towels and waits for me to tell her "All free" as I unleash her and watch her run madly abnout the back yard and roll on the lawn. She doesn't complain though - I think that she has worked out that she always gets more cuddles after her bath. Once she is dry, I spend ages brushing her (and today I had to use a tiny cat brush as I forgot to ask her people for her own brush when they dropped her off with us) and then she looks like a big fluffy bear with silkn fur that I can't resist wrapping my arms around her and giving her a good squeeze and a pat. She really is a lovely dog.

And this is the littlest one - a new member of the Virgo family, Maggie. She's very quiet, quite timid, but loveable all the same. We haven't seen a lot of her (hence the rushed photo!).

The first day she spent hidden behind the washing machine until I prized her out and stuffed the gap with an old blanket to stop her hiding in there again. Since then she has been in hiding a lot - behind the washing basket, under the shoe rack, under Austy's desk, behind thre different curtains, under the computer desk... We onder where else she might hide tomorrow. Austy gave us a fright this morning as he exclaimed "Maggie's gone outside! I let her out and she's disappeared." as I came back from my shower with Madelyn. We all had a good look, calling her and wondering if we'd even hear her since she has the quietest cry (and the loudest pur to match!) but she wasn't anywhere to be found. Then Andrew saw her, hiding under Austin's desk trying to blend into the wall. She gets brave occasionally and lets Austin play with her, but then he gets a bit too much for her and she has a bit too much carrying around and retreats to a new place to hide. Since our own cat has died, I have been reading Austin "Goodbye Mog". Mog gets old and dies, but her ghost stays to watch over the family when a new kitten arrives. That kitten is a lot like Maggie. Mog calls the kitten a "stupid kind of kitten" because it's so afraid of the family but in the end Mog helps the kitten learn that the family are okay, kind of like how Maggie is adapting to having little children around. Although it did sound a little strange when Austy referred to Maggie as a stupid kind of kitten.... Seriously - who writes "stupid" in a book for preschoolers?!!

Tonight I was reminded what it is like to knit with a kitten in the house as she jumped on my lap, stole my wool, nibbled my needles and chewed on my knee - all in good fun! I kept losing my place and packed the knitting away to give her some cuddles instead. It will be so nice to have a kitten again, I'd love another dog too but Andrew isn't as sold on that one yet as puppies take a bit more time to train and we'd like to take it to obedience training like our last one so we need to wait until the kidlets are a bit older.

Blogtobefest Day 7: Get your scraps out!

After deciding to use up some scrap wool last night, I finally made a start on my EBDQS3! Horaaaahhh! A month of the making time has already vanished into whatever black hole the rest of the year went down, so it was about time I made a start. I knew I wanted to try a bit of a scrappy style as I haven't done that before and a doll quilt is the perfect size to try something new. Those that know me, know I like to plan and control... well... everything, so scrapiness is a little weird for me but I'm enjoying it so far.

Plus, with the minute amount of sleep I've been getting lately (thanks to an adorable but sleepless little girl) scrapiness is probably about the only thing I can handle right now. We think there are more teeth on the way (yes, I KNOW!!! She already has 8 and she is only 9 months old, it's CRAZY!) and these are the worst ever as she is even off her food. Don't worry, she certainly won't fade away to a shadow - the amount of milk she is demanding from me will make sure of it, I just hope I can keep my sanity in the meantime. Last night I had both of them screaming, tring to outdo each other, and it took me ages to have both of them asleep, running backwards and forwards between the two of them, and even that was short lived as the littlest one was awake four mour times before I eventually got the courage to go to bed myself (knowing I'd be woken again as oon as I found that elusive dreamy land).

Anyway enough of my overtired drivel, I have no idea where this little quilt is heading. I sketched up three different plans and kept changing my mind, so hopefully if I pack it up for the night it will have some new directions for me tomorrow. I think all I can manage tonight is to curl up on the couch with one of our fluffy visitors and knit away on my trial baby blanket - Mochalicious Zest, using up those wool left overs I spoke of last night. A friend has a boy on the way so if it turns out okay, he will have it as part of his welcome to the world gift. If not, my next baby (the four legged variety - due to move in just after my birthday) will get it for his basket.

Blogtoberfest Day 6: Dyeing for hot cocoa!

I decided to use up some leftover yarn. It wasn't the right colour. So I changed it. Keep an eye out for more news on hot cocoa in blogtoberfest posts to come.

Edited for Susuan:

I use Gaywool Dyes, and a couple of Landape dyes I bought ages ago in a sample pack. This method shown here is the kettle dyeing method, which I use for semisolids only as I have a fear of ugly colours forming when they mix (or perhaps I need more practice :P). This is a fairly easy method, you boil up the wool from cold, turn it down to a simmer and pour on some dye solution in random spots. Don't stir it unless you want even colour. And don't turn it for abou 10 mins as the dye will mostly take in the first 5 mins. Simmer gently for half an hour, rinse, wash, dry and reskein. Enjoy!

Blogtoberfest Day 5: Did you know?

For those who trace out patterns that need the seam allowances added on, like those from my favourite magazine Ottobre, did you know that your index finger is the perfect width for a seam allowance? I just trace the pattern off then lay my finger next to the traced line and draw along the edge of my finger to get nice even seam allowances all around.


Sorry for the short post - we had a family day today with it being a public holiday here and therefore no craftiness to show, so I thought I'd share my favourite dressmaking tip.

Blogtoberfest Day 4: Happy Birthday Nanna!

Yesterday was my Nanna's 77th birthday so of course I packed the kids up and took them to her place with a homemade afternoon tea. I didn't give her anything I had made this year, but I tried to take a photo of the first quilt I ever made that was her 70th birthday present, all hand stitched (piecing and quilting). I often refer to this one as my first ever quilt as every memory of that 70th quilt was painful as handstitching really ISN'T my thing and I used the wrong batting which meant that even with a leather thimble, I still managed to stab holes in my thumb doing the hand quilting. Austy's little baby quilt was the first one I did "right" and used teh machine for. I try to forget the painful holes in my thumb!

Unfortunately in her gloomy spare room (it was quite cloudy yesterday) and with a wriggly baby in my arms the photos came out quite blurry so I deleted them when I got home and will have to try again another day. I did catch a shot of this one though - my one and only blackwork (or should it be BLUE work?) that I did for her kitchen one Christmas (about 10yrs ago) as she has lots of blue and white china in there.

And like Nanna always does, she sent me home with a little something for one of the kids, this time a sweet little jumper for Madelyn. It's a Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply pattern she did with some yarn leftovers someone gave her, and embroidered by her sister.

Instead of getting crafty today, Austy and I made slime... blue slime.... remind me next time to make it white as we both are now sporting lovely SMURF hands!

Blogtoberfest Day 3: The elusive buttons

I decided to finally finish off the Alicia Dress (Ottobre 3/2009) that I made for Madelyn when DH told me I could keep on sewing if I wanted to after I finished off the page boy suit for Matt & Jazz's wedding. I got it all done from tracing to finishing in just one afternoon, but then procrastinated on putting the buttons on as I have a morbid fear of ruining things when I add buttonholes. Crazy really as my sewing machine does a beautiful job of an automatic buttonhole... and since I now know I can use my sewing machine to actually stitch the buttons on, the most arduous task of all can be done by machine.

So last night I pulled it out and do you think I could find those supercute little daisy buttons I spent time picking out for this dress? Of course not. I gave up after an hour of searching and made some little bloomers instead (Eyelet Bloomers Ottobre 3/2007). I didn't really follow the instructions here, just used the pattern piece (got to love a single piece pattern!!!) and added some length to the hem so that I could do a ruffled casing instead of shiring elastic on the legs. I don't have shirring elastic and don't know if I'm game enough to try it yet so I copied an idea I saw on some cute baby leisure pants at Seed the other day (and for less than half the price!!!). These pants have to be the quickest baby pants ever. I will certainly be making more for spring/summer as she can get away with shorter dresses (so as not to get all tangled up when crawling) with a pair of bloomers underneath. Occationally I will let her just wear a cloth nappy butt in all it's glory, but I don't have a gazzillion nappies in every colour and not too keen on things that don't match (call it obsessive compulsive but I like colour coordination!), so only if the nappy matches she can go bloomer-free. (I am a little less anal about the whole nappy matching thing these days but I vaguely recall having a go at DH when Austy was a fewe months old because he used a lime green pocket nappy under a white bodysuit which poked out through the leg holes - I told him only skin colour under white.... now I am just happy that my baby has cloth on most of the time as DH will go for a disposable when he can.)

When the bloomers were done, I forced myself back to the knitting. I say "forced" because I'm not too sure I like this thing in all it's fuzzy wuzzy glory, but I have started it so I should get it off the needles one way or another. I think it'd be cute if it weren't for all the shedding. It's Lincraft Angora Plus, hand dyed by me a while back. It was cheap and I thought it was soft and sheeny (it is) and it passed the cheek test (where I rub it against my cheek and decide if I would want it next to my skin let alone a baby's), but oh the shedding!!! Sadly I don't ghave a cat anymore (you can read about Gryffin here) but my lap was oh so much fluffier than when he was around. I'd better get used to it I guess, we have a cornish rex on the way, and while his fur will be delightfully soft and pattable, I know from experience that it will be fine and hard to get off clothes.

And of course I found the buttons this morning but don't know if I'll make it to the sewing machine with my two kidlets awake.

Blogtoberfest? Should I? Could I?

Now we all know how I have never managed a blog a day for a whole week, so could I manage a whole month? Really? Probably not, but what the hey, I'll give it a shot.

It's my last full month of maternity leave (sob) so probably the only chance I'll get. Hopefully I'll pull out some WIPs (we all know I have a few!) and show you on the dull days, and maybe even reinspire myself to finish them. You know how something just doesn't work out exactly as you'd planned, you toss it in the cupboard never to be seen again, then one day you happen across it and think, "Hey, what is wrong with this?" and actually finish it off. Okay, one can dream...

Hopefully I'll have something crafty to talk about each day and don't get caught up in the "must blog" hype and bore you all with mindless drivell. I'll try to offer a photo a day, and maybe this giveaway I've been promising for months, might actually eventuate!

To join in the fun, find out who else is in, or find out more, you can read about Blogtoberfest here

I'm off to a slow start, having missed the first day, but as TinnieGirl says wagging is allowed (just not preferred!). I look forward to finding inspiration where I never thought possible and "meeting" new friends along the way. Welcome to the festival!

Today's crafty task is to cut the loose buttons off this cotton cardy I made for Austin and restitch them as it's now a perfect fit for Madelyn (got to love pistachio green for it's unisex style!). This cardy has a little story - I was making a striped hat and jacket for Austin from the cotton in the final weeks of my pregnancy. I didn't get too far but took it into the hospital to keep me busy in the evenings once visiting hours were over. Well, any mum would know that when those visiting hours have ended all you want to do is SLEEP! So I think I only managed a couple more rows and then Austin grew out of it before I could finish. So at 4m old, I decided he needed me to make another one, I bought a new pattern (this one is by Sirdar) and started again (and actually FINISHED!) It was my first finished project as a new mum as he didn't really sleep much during the day and I was still getting used to things.

The hat didn't happen and I still had plenty of cotton left over. Then when I had a week before my induction date with Madelyn I decided to make some booties and a hat with it. Again, I took it to hospital with me to do while I waited for labour to start. But I also had a quilt that needed binding and that got preferential treatment. The hat got almost finished, and one bootie was made but that's where it ended. If only I had left the hat half finished from having Austy and I would probably have had a stripey newborn hat for one of my babies! Oh well, they both get to wear this cute soft cardigan which is now the perfect weight for spring and just goes to show that Madelyn IS smaller than Austin was (even though she is still a giant baby and bigger than most 12-14m olds I know!) as he had grown out of it by 10m and it's still a little roomy for her. It's a gorgeous shade of green and looks great on her, a nice change from pink. However I might have to team it with pink pants or something to avoid those "he's such a cute little boy" comments. I never had anyone assume Austy was a girl, so I feel a bit odd when pewople think my pretty princess is a boy, hence my need to put her in one of my least favourite colours all the time.