Crochet Flower Hair Clips

I crocheted these a while back using this pattern and on our way to Dreamworld recently I stitched some clips to the back.

Lilly loves them and I filled in some spare time so everyones a winner!

First Project of 2010

My little girl wanted to sew something, she dove in straight for the felt and the machine.  She drew a butterfly and together I showed her how to trace the design in pieces onto the double sided interfacing or whatever you call it and cut it all out.  She placed it all on the singlet and we ironed it on then I stitched it on and I could be as wonky as I wanted which was good because the machine is still playing up and hated going through the felt and was skipping stitches.  I got really mad at it and had to walk away once!  I love how it looks exactly like her drawing since I cut the shapes exactly as she drew them, no neatening. 

Don't you think she has done a good job, all her design and colours.

This is a really good way of using your child's artwork, my little girl does some really good drawings.

My Busy December

I didn't have time to blog in December, so here is a start at a few things I made...

a Glam Green Bag for our favourite kindy teacher.  I found this cute Norweigian Birds print at Spotlight surprisingly and used some co-ordinating hot pink and lime green spots for the lining.  My machine played up big time making this and then has continued to play up now when I sew PVC or felt, I NEED A NEW ONE!

I said goodbye (to the cupboard as a backup and keep for Miss Lilly one day) to this old girl, Mum gave this new retro model about 10 years ago and it is good but not fantastic and since I busted the big bowl (I know I could have got a replacement) and it spins like a maniac, it was time for me to get this little ripper....

It is a whole new world with this thing.  I cannot describe how good it is.  The colour is Ice Blue.  We called her Gloria cause she is Glorious, sad but true.  The kids love her too.  I made my Aunty's secret recipe christmas biscuits in it with the dough hook, easy as.  I've even used it whiz up scrambled eggs, fritters, pancake batter and of course meringues, macaroons, christmas cake batter, gingerbread houses, chocolate mousse.  I am yet to make a pavlova.

I'll get back with some pictures of the clothes and gifts I made soon too.

Gingerbread House

We are still here!  We had a great Christmas, we made heaps of stuff including this unreal Gingerbread House using a special recipe that is guaranteed not to collapse and that it didn't!  The kids decorated it after we did the roofing. 

I will be back soon with pictures of all the stuff I've made, lots and lots including new stuff for me.

Happy 2010 to all my friends and family out there in blogland!

Table Runner

I made this gorgeous table runner this arvo after school.  Mum got the fabric in Bowral and the ric rac at the Remnant Warehouse.  She got lots of other good stuff as well and I am very jealous I wasn't with her when she bought it all!  My excellent Aunty was though, and took her to some really awesome places, you are so lovely Lydi!

I got that red and white stripey jug in Sydney so the runner and jug should feel right at home.  It looks kind of Christmasy too so I'm happy with that on the table right now.

And this is the rest of Mum's shopping, a little bit of Love (another skirt in the making), some Kaffe Fassett, Anna Maria and some more of those table runner panels.  The big dusty blue and strawberry piece at the bottom of the pile is for a massive tablecloth Mum is making.

How cute are these crocheted teapot cosies.  The little one was $8, its hard to see clearly but there is masses of hours in them, the black background is all crochet as well.  We love pansies!

Lastly my work in progress, Lill's next bebop cardi, one that fits hopefully.

x see you next time

I'm making one of these!

I just love this! And I'm going straight out tomorrow after school drop off to get some rub on letters! I will have to get some beautiful scrap book papers as well I think and a couple more balls of Cleckheaton natural 8 ply cotton for the next cardigan that is already 1/2 done.

Click here for the link to this very sweet tutorial.

Cardigan

I did night shift this weekend and I completed this gorgeous cardigan while I suffered it out at work, lucky it was not too bad at the hospital and I got lots of spare breaks to crochet.

I used this pattern after being inspired here- a new found blog I've found.

I made the size L: 11-12 years but only using a 3 1/2 hook which made things pretty tight, it has turned out really small. So I guess it will be a present or go into my Etsy store when I get that sorted!

Mummy Made Halloween

Gee whiz I felt the peer pressure this year which could come from no where else but school since its not really my thing! Halloween... like you've never seen, how could I get through to her (Grade 1 age) that there is no way in this world we are knocking on our neighbours door and asking for, and I sooo hate this word "candy". One way or another Lilly did not let up and in the end I felt I was letting her down, denying her of Christmas or something!
So I compromised.

First of all we went shopping for "candy" and talked about what we could give back to people/animals/the planet and she decided to buy some dog and cat food and give it to the RSPCA bin at Woolies. Good start.

Then we came home, made a couple of ghost costumes, sacrificing a perfectly good queen size flat sheet in the process and invited our best friends over for dinner.

We dressed up, one child threw a wobbly bob cause he couldn't see properly through his ghost eyes, hence why he is a lying down ghost in the above photo.

We had a 'candy' treasure hunt instead of door knocking, and for tricks we threw about 50 water bombs off the verandah at Daddy and made sure we picked up every last bit of balloon to stop the sea turtles eventually eating them!

Then and I think this may have been a small mistake watched Ghostbusters as they are now hooked, had a yummy gardeny dinner and followed it all up with the most chocolate ridden, lolly, icecream, make your own creation feast you could imagine!!!

Shirred Dress

I've had this fabric for a while, just a spotlight number, really light.

Yesterday I turned it into a shirred dress for me, after which I am not sure about the stripes and colour, so it can be a 'House Christmas Dress' I think!

There was alot of shirring going on and wider than normal straps for me, it is very comfortable and cool.

I'll make a black one next, not so home madey looking hopefully.

New Potatoes

Freshly dug potatoes, the first of many more to come by the looks of things in that ground.

They were so white, fresh and delicious. We'll be enjoying many more of them soon.

Amy Butler's Love for Mum

Happy Birthday Mum!She picked this gorgeous stuff out for me to make her a skirt, just the usual skirt!

We had a hard time choosing, Kelani have the whole range. Click here to see Amy Butler's website and the Love range, my favourite is the Soul group.
My BFF Kimmy ordered some today as well cause in her words "I just can't stand it any longer". I must admit that most of Amy Butler's fabrics don't grab me that much, but this is just so beautiful, up there with Farmers Market for me and that's saying something!
There was enough in the main skirt fabric leftover to squeeze a bag out, I have nearly put these things out for retirement (O.V.A.H. if you know what I mean), I've counted up at least 60 of these things I've made and am over it! But when I saw the exact amount needed for a bag leftover, it seemed a waste to fold it up for the shelf so I got the bag template out and did another. They are just the most useful bags and so lovely with gorgeous fabrics under shiny plastic! I am glad I did it now.

Happy Birthday to the best Mum

xxx

Yet Another Wrap Skirt

It's probably getting a bit boring, but here's another Versatile Wrap Skirt made with another old tablecloth.

Here's a few pictures from my garden, starting with my happy entry petunia's that are growing under the massive gums on our driveway.

My recent Hippeastrum purchases, love em!

A new miniature rose, so sweet.
My old wheelbarrow of Petunia's is coming along nicely too.

Cooking and Eating from the Patch

Lill picked this...
and together we made this...

...homemade canneloni (using fresh lasagne sheets) wrapped up with silverbeet, chicken breast mince, tomatoes, garlic, ricotta and then cooked in chicken stock, a little cream, ricotta and grated cheese.
This is how it turned out and was very yum!
With the leftover silverbeet, we wrapped up whole zuchini's and we also roasted some golden squash.

Vegie Garden Update

Sunflowers just sprouted.

These little things sprouted only 2 or 3 days after we put the seeds in.
Green Cucumber
Baby Golden Squash, these were really good.

Everything is growing strong and fast!
A night's harvest! 5 eggs, some beans, lettuce, squash and silverbeet...all eaten up for dinner!
And finally, another Versatile Wrap Skirt I finished off tonight. Made from an old tablecloth, not too sure about this one though.

Pretty Stuff from the Garden

Mum and I are into roses and hippeastrums at the moment and we have picked up a few miniature roses each from Big W surprisingly. I got a lovely mauve (above), cream and a tiny tiny hot pink one that Joey picked out and is now "Joey's Rose"! We bought cheap enough terracotta pots and now they look so beautiful in the sun at my front door, I think I might go back and get myself a few more...
This is my prized Hippeastrum which I have been waiting so patiently to flower to see what colour it is since I had forgotten.

Check out the before flowering pic! Tomorrow we are heading back to the Hippe Farm to get a couple more special ones.
And this is just something that is looking sweet at the moment, a couple of old tea pots with some holes drilled in the bottom filled with Heartsies. I am on the look out for some more old teapots.
And lastly, some fresh picked flowers from Mum's garden on my hall stand. You can just see some Blue Forget-me-not's amongst the bunch.




Next up I thought I would show you: an update in my vegie patch and progress on extending the chook yard, still to come: before and after pic's of our house

My Garden

Since I have spent so much time outside this week, gardening my little heart out and I've loved every minute- I am going to share some pictures of what's going on in the garden at the minute- my favourite stuff!
This is my new rose "Just Joey", its a standard and I've planted it out the front of the fence in this little rocked section between the 2 driveway gates. This was Nanny's favourite rose. It is an orangey peachy goldy yellowy colour! Petunias in front of it.
This is something special! A gorgeous Hippeastrum, not sure what name, but def a named one. I bought 3 last year from the Hippe Farm nearby and plonked in, I love how they just come up amongst the other stuff. There is another really special one just about to burst out the bud, stay tuned for that!
Here it is ready to bust open!

And lastly a happy wheelbarrow of petunias, I pulled out the pansies, they were well and truly finished in here. I have made a pact with myself to 'flourish' my seedlings 3 times a week to give them the best chance.

Next up I thought I would show you: what my little piece of acreage looked like before we got our hands on it!