All Things Mum

You know I-am-so-glad my husband isn't home when the postie knocks on my door. My lovely parcel arrived today from Hawthorne Threads (US). They were sooo speedy as I ordered this a week ago. I love how they used tissue paper to wrap up the fabric and didn't add an additional invoice paper. I was inspired by the iPod cases that Janelle Wind created and the fabric that she used. So I decided I needed to have some Meadowsweet at home. I also decided I had to have some pink unicorns, some flowery diamonds and something for the boy. I hope to use this for something wearable for the boy. It's quite a decent size print of trucks so I hope to applique some shirts and make some shorts for spring/summer. What is it about boys clothes that I find challenging? Perhaps it is just a matter of using more cotton knits and jersey. There isn't much I like to make during Winter unfortunately. I do enjoy some aspects of Winter but I really prefer Spring and warmer weather....

The following post contains a few pictures, some cute, some not so much. Some kinda blurry. Crafty admiration and lovely comments are advised. This is the progress of the cardigan/sweater I am knitting for Miss Almost 4. I am becoming aware that I am running out of wool. I only have three balls of the Baby Layette. At least I think so, I am onto the second ball already. Unless of course she is happy to wear it as a bolero? I really thought it was going to come out much bigger. From the notes I used with Soulemama's February Girl Sweater (adapted from the Baby Sweater) she made it to fit her daughter who is size 5. Hmmmm. I will have to finish this for her before Winter is over so that she can still wear it otherwise the baby gets it next Winter. It does fit nicely in the back but I am not finished so I am hoping it won't stretch out too much. I did pop over to Spotlight to source more balls of wool but only saw two balls of this one left. Here it is next to the original. Can y...

Sound the trumpets, I've started my first knitted garment! I decided to go ahead with the February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman but upsize it for my almost 4yr old girl. I'm using notes from various sources on Ravelry including Soulemama's, and hoping it will turn out well enough to wear. Yes, I'm still in my jammies, it's cold here you know. See that chubby wubby hand in the picture? She's now very good at grabbing everything, even with her eyes closed. I cast on 60 stitches, am using Addi Turbo's: size 4mm 80cm circular needles. I am also using my very small stash of wool. I think this is Baby Layette 4ply I picked up from Spotlight ages ago. The pattern calls for garter stitch (the purly bumps you can see curled up) but I prefer the look of stockinette which is the knit stitch in the front of the work. There's something about purl knitting which I do not enjoy. Anyhoo, I also used her Make 1 increase, which is essentially a backwards loop hooke...

I am a blogger. This is me. On many days. It's mid-morning. No make-up. Just plain 'ol me. I read a post about Bloggers with No Make-up a while ago and it's stuck in my head. We see other blogs with perfect pictures, perfect rooms, perfect families, perfect crafts. While it is enviable I believe that there are moments where it's not perfect. Where there are messy floors, messy kitchens, messy kids and messy moments. Yup, that's life and believe me, it's good to realise that once in a while. Good not to get caught up in perfectionism or the want of. I haven't had much time-out for myself these days so I am getting more frustrated and the lists of things I want to do are piling up in my head. I found that crocheting allows me a little time to be creative but it definately works better when a little hand isn't grabbing at the wool. On the sewing front I haven't been able to cut out any pattern yet. There's something holding me back. It's like I ...