Warming crafts

+ and -

2012-02-02T13:02:00.000+13:00

In many ways today and yesterday have been really good.    Yesterday was a wonderful yarny day and I'll post pictures down the bottom of the post as one lot could be considered spoilers for Morag of Vintage Purls wonderful summer sock club.
Today started really well, kids are at school, I went to a bloggers meet up at the Christchurch South Library which was really nice and got to meet a bunch of lovely ladies most of whom I've only seen pictures of on their blogs before now.   I handed over a ski jacket to one of them which means one less thing in my closet. It was a really good ski jacket, but I never ski and now that I have my down jacket it wasn't being worn.   I washed it first and it came through really well; gotta love front loaders!
On the way out of the library I got a call on my cellphone, getting used to having Abba's Rock Me playing now so did actually answer it; the hair clippers were all sharpened so I could pick them up.   When I cut Ian's hair last week it sort of chewed through it, so having them sharp again will be brilliant. Those things have saved us a huge amount of money over the years.

After I got home I decided to call EQC to check and find out if we could replace our carpet without it impacting on the Fletchers repairs; the answer to that was yes, which is just as well.   Our current carpet is down to the backing, and it won't be long before we've worn through that as well.   While I had them on the phone I thought I'd clarify the garage situation.   When it was assessed there was no mention of whether we could continue using it or not so we sort of assumed it was safe.   A few weeks back my brother-in-law pushed the north facing wall and the whole thing moved, which made me wonder.   I checked today, no, it's not safe and we shouldn't be using it at all.   I pointed out that we really do need that garage and asked what we could do; they've referred it as urgent to Fletchers.   In the meantime we're going to treat it as yellow stickered and just go in to grab stuff we need; otherwise it will be kept shut to keep the boys out of it.
Hope nothing happens, we've got a lot of tools in there and there is nowhere else to keep them.   Thomas is not happy, all his hobby stuff is in there too so I've told him he can grab stuff to paint, but he'll have to paint them inside or on the deck; it's just not worth the risk.   There are a couple of things in there we have to be able to get to, the chest freezer and the motor mower; so we'll shift them to just behind the door so easy access.

Right, back to happy things now; here's the yarn I got yesterday in the mail

Party Girl by Wandering Cat Yarns; I won this

Honeysuckle also won from Wandering Cat Yarns

Summer sock club; pattern is Demelza a shawl and the yarn is called Sunshine. This will not be knitted up as the shawl, I see a pair of bobby socks in the chaussettes de beauxbatons pattern

Zauberball sock yarn, this came with the sock club and will be a shawl I think; not sure which one yet, but most likely a triangular one.

Oh, and finally, just found out Mum is reading my blog, so "Hi Mum"!

Wardrobe Wednesday

2012-02-01T13:05:00.000+13:00

Unfortunately my photographers were all at school or work so I had to rely on the very unflattering timed photo instead. My current clothing was chosen this morning based on my plans for the day which involved a bike ride (50 minutes worth) and some dropping off of a big pile of books to the Metro Station for them to sell.

I'm wearing a T-shirt I bought a few years back from 1-day Tees which has a dandelion fairy on it and a pair of black yoga pants. The t-shirt is one of my favourites. The outfit as a whole is not the most flattering, but very practical.

I've now finished the exercise thing for the day so I'm going to spend an hour knitting followed by an hour working before I pick the boys up from school; first day of school being back and it's not long enough!

More tidying

2012-01-30T18:38:00.000+13:00

First up I want to show you the sandpit now that it's all cleaned up

The lid has now been fixed and re-attached so we can close it when not in use. Really pleased with it now.

I've also just cleaned and tidied the boys room; no before shots I'm afraid, you'll just have to take my word for it, the room was a tip.

I'll still put a couple more lots of toys up on the shelf on the left, but it's looking good at the moment, and it means that the conservatory has less toys in it now. Hmm, might be time to ditch Winnie though; the boys are really a bit old for him.

Next step is the main bookcase in the lounge; there will be some books that go, shifting all my spinning books down a few levels as I can't get most of them out of the top to read due to the ornamental molding on the top. The stuff that will go up to the top is the stuff we rarely read but don't want to get rid of yet.

I got a wee bit more done on my socks last night, not a lot as I've poked a hole in my finger so a bit slow and careful. That and there was a small black purring thing on my lap that insisted on "helping" me knit so had to remove her too.

Finally, something I saw on the way home this morning; took this photo while the car was stationary so perfectly safe.

I overdid things

2012-01-26T20:05:00.000+13:00

I did 5 loads of washing, lots of cleaning and then weeded and dug over the sandpit; now I'm paying the price. My IBS is playing up, sure I should have seen this coming though, had to take Loperamide to make sure I could get to Ian's hospital appointment; there's often issues following that.

On the plus side though, Thomas has now stopped talking about going out and buying more sandpit sand as the sandpit now looks fantastic. I've also put Buzz Lightyear and his mates in the sewing room; if the boys don't miss them over the next month they'll be found new homes. They do need new batteries, but not sure I want to do that before I know if they're wanted or not.

Wardrobe Wednesday

2012-01-25T13:10:00.000+13:00

Photo taken by my eldest son, took 3 goes to get a semi-decent one. I'm wearing a sea monster t-shirt from the one-day t-shirts website a couple of years back. Trousers are Limewire workout pants and the cardigan is one I knit from Purewool 3-ply and some handspun. You can't see my shoes, but they're Shoe Planet sandals and very comfortable.

Boys

2012-01-24T11:03:00.000+13:00

Just a quick post today. Earlier this week I got George a watch from the Timex range as I'm a bit fed up with his lack of time-telling ability. The new watch has the minutes on the outside so as well as 1-12 there is also 5-55 which is making a huge difference! He's absolutely thrilled with it which I like too

It's a nice masculine watch for a wee boy who's quite conscious of these things.

Ian got a new schoolbag as his old one is dying. The new one is grey and teal plaid and he really likes it too. No pics yet I'm afraid, but it's a good size without being huge.

He went into hospital this morning to get his teeth pulled; really did not like it and tried to leave a few times. He fought the anaesthetic but didn't win so now has 2 less teeth, a filling and all the fissures in his teeth sealed. The dental surgeon also approved of us using tooth mousse to try and prevent further issues. He woke up a lot better than he went down, possibly because they'd called me in to keep him calm. An iceblock later, removal of the lure and he's at home on his computer. Trying to keep his hands out of his mouth and the computer does a good job of that. He's not hungry yet, but is drinking which is the important bit. More pamol at about 1pm and I'll keep an eye on him. I did manage to get a couple of repeats done on my socks while waiting for him which was good.

He won't be quite so happy this weekend though; will be severely limiting screen time since school starts back on Wednesday next week.

Just one more week

2012-01-22T15:00:00.000+13:00

Of school holidays that is. Busy week coming up, probably much like the last week. I know I have a meeting with another member of the Weavers and Spinners guild on Monday morning as well as dropping the boys to their holiday programme, dropping off some work and tidying at bit. The afternoon I'm visiting a friend and I'll have to get things ready for the next morning as well. Dropping George off at Grandma's after the holiday programme so we don't have to worry about him while Ian's having his dental surgery in the hospital. Might see if Grandma can drop George back home after I get Ian back as I'm not sure if he'll be up to toddling across town to get his brother after that. 2 teeth to come out and a filling as well; hoping they also seal the rest of his teeth.

Friday night I got confirmation we have a hedgehog on the premises as the cats alerted me to something outside and I looked out the bedroom window to see Hedgie toddling into the garage. I decided to rescue him as he wouldn't find much edible out there and could get hurt; my rose pruning gloves were pulled on and out I toddled. I found him in the back corner attempting to get under an old office chair; he'd got himself stuck! So after a bit of shifting around of stuff I managed to pick him up and took him outside near our deck so he could hide under it. No photo's I'm afraid, I figured he was already stressed sufficiently by me picking him up. He seemed very healthy though, no sign of fleas or mites and a good turn of speed too.
He should be happy in our garden, lots of slugs and snails.

Yesterday I went to the guild to a gap filling event. As it was cold and windy outside several of us headed into The Colombo (Sydenham Mall) and spun there after getting permission from the business next to us.

My wheel is the one on the left; I didn't bring my camera so had to use the one on my phone. I'm spinning very fine Merino/Silk as I was in a previous post. I'm almost halfway through the first bobbin; then got 2 more bobbins to go after this one is complete. I found some more of the fibre in the stash which means I can make a 3-ply yarn; more work, but I love the way a 3-ply looks.

Today I let Thomas sleep in, but had to sneak back to get the camera when George spotted this wee guy on the window.

Isn't he gorgeous? You don't normally get to see these guys from the underside. I had to use the flash as otherwise there was no real detail, downside of that is we can now see just how many scratches are on the glass.

In knitting news I've finally actually done some! My first Mermaidia sock is complete. I made it much shorter as I wasn't sure how much yarn I had left; turns out I could have done at least a couple more pattern repeats, but I'm actually really pleased with the look of the sock at bobby-sock length. The only thing I'm not sure about is that they seem slightly longer in the foot than my original pair despite being the same needle size; it may just be that this yarn knits up differently, it has bamboo instead of nylon in it. The yarn is Wandering Cats Yarn Jungle Cat in the Vampire colourway; it's more pink than red, but I figure that's due to the bamboo component.

It really isn't easy to take good pictures of your own feet. These will be lovely summer socks. I've cast on for the second one and will be taking it with me to the hospital on Tuesday; it's a fairly easy pattern to knit.

Faulty

2012-01-20T16:54:00.000+13:00

It's been a few days of things being faulty. First I found out that the fact that my Kindle's left hand page turn buttons didn't work was in fact not normal. This morning I returned it to Dick Smith and upgraded it to the next one up at the same time; I didn't think they would do it, but they were quite happy to! All the buttons work on this one. Unfortunately while I was charging it my USB hub that I had it on had a hissy fit and now keeps cutting out my keyboard and my portable hard drive so going to have to get a new one of those; looking for one with an independent power source so I can plug it into the mains. I use it for charging as I can't use it for the printer as that throws wobblies on a hub. Soon we'll be setting up the new printer, but I really need to use up the last lot of ink in the old one first.

Not much knitting, work's been busy. In fact I've claimed 30 hours this week which is 1.5 times what I normally claim. I have however almost finished cleaning out the conservatory; about to get back to that now.

Wardrobe Wednesday

2012-01-18T11:49:00.001+13:00

I've decided to participate in Wardrobe Wednesday over at Nin's blog. The theme at the moment is 'Putting the new in your year' and I'm wearing a top I knit last year for the first time today.

The top is Spring Garden Tee knit in a cashmere/silk blend and it feels lovely! Unfortunately it also pulls really easily and I already have some repair work to do on it; the yarn is a multi-ply which isn't really twisted very much so that's the reason it pulls so easily. The skirt I bought back in 2010 from Dressmart and it's one of my favourite pieces. I normally wear it with a red and black t-shirt.
Since this photo was taken I've changed as I'm back to cleaning up and I'm wearing my new shorts and a strappy top as it's hot today.

Cleaning Out

2012-01-17T20:50:00.000+13:00

Now that we're back home we've started tidying and cleaning out the house and garden.   Thomas wants an Asian themed garden across from the lounge window so we're going to be building up that bed; filling it with stones and putting some pottery in there. I wanted to grass it over as it's full of couch; horrible stuff and really hard to eradicate, so we'll have to spray in there for a few months before we put the stones in.   The main thing slowing us down is the size of our green bin, it's going to take a few weeks just to clear all the weeds out of that section alone.

In the house we're working on the conservatory atm; it's where the boys toys currently reside and they have so many they get bored with them.   We've removed my yarn, it's now under the boys bed.   The pile on the floor is getting smaller; some of it will be given away, some sold and yet more just thrown out.   Got to try and persuade grandparents not to give the boys cheap crap from China.   I don't mind well-made stuff, but some of it has such a short lifespan it's a complete waste of resources to buy it, and as long as people buy it they'll keep making it.   The good stuff is going up for sale; there's a wooden castle that the boys haven't played with it for some time but was well loved in its day, a Cabbage Patch doll that's actually a boy is another, just have to wait for him to dry.

On the crafting front nothing much has happened over the last few days.   Been busy working and tidying; just been no time for my stuff. I do want to finish the Mermaidia socks fairly soon though and also the Central Park Hoodie.   I've been gifted the pattern for my next cardigan which is a 4-ply (fingering) weight cardigan similar to those in the 1950's with a small piece of colourwork across the chest area in an argyle pattern.   I'll be using some Purewool I've got; the main colour is a periwinkle, the contrast is a multicoloured yarn which goes from dark green to deep pink.   I'll still be working on the shawl too as well as Mandorla socks and Ian's jersey and some spinning. I found 2 more bags of the Merino/Silk in the pink that I'm currently spinning so I'll be able to do a 3-ply once I've dized it.

1132

2012-01-15T20:49:00.001+13:00

That's how many kilometers we travelled from Saturday 7th to Saturday 14th.

Day 1 - 07th January
We set off at 9am; somewhere in the Lewis Pass Ian lost his breakfast in spectacular style. The car smelt pretty nasty for the rest of the trip though luckily I had a damp facecloth which I used to clean up the worst of it. It was our first long trip and we suspect the windy road combined with a slightly stuffy car just was too much for the poor wee man. Over the next few days we cleaned with vinegar, water, baking soda and also got some Fabreeze; the car is now not smelly.
Despite that wee issue the trip wasn't too bad; we stopped at Maruia Falls which was beautiful, a lot of wood in the water from the storms in the last few weeks.

You can see the falls above, also the unit we stayed in at Tahunanui in Nelson.

Day 2 was Sunday. We trotted into town, had a look at the outside of the cathedral, services were being held so we couldn't go in, but it was nice to see a stone church that was still in one piece. We also had a gelato at Penguino's; very nice! We met my brother and his wife in town after a little texting; went back to the unit before heading to the wee zoo near the beach. It was rather a cool wee zoo; even had a Morepork and a Porcupine.

After the zoo David and Karen went back to her parents place and we took the boys to the hydroslide. Ian tried it once and was scared by it, after a few minutes recovery though he tried again and didn't want to leave!

We went back to this on our final full day; Thomas and the boys had a blast; I found it completely terrifying so only had the one go. They actually refunded my money, despite it not being their fault!.

Day 3 we went to Rabbit Island first, we forgot our togs so had a wander around and then had to go back to change, wash the clothes, get our swim stuff and then went back. Rabbit Island had been affected by the floods in the previous couple of weeks, the whole picnic area was still under water and the route out had quite a big wet dip that the car wasn't keen on. We all enjoyed the place though; beautiful beach whether low or high tide. After RI we went to Mapua which was also a pretty wee seaside township. Thomas bought me a new bag; not sure if it's leather or not, but it's gorgeous and it's red instead of my usual black. I love it! Also picked up a new sunhat as my leather one is a bit too hot; there was only one that fit me; perils of a large head unfortunately. I got a periwinkle blue crocheted cotton one; George spent his pocket money on a nice black one with a skull and flames. Both were a good price as the shop is closing down.

Day 4 we went to Founders Park which is a heritage park very much like Ferrymead in Christchurch. Personally I think Ferrymead is better though. Many of the buildings in Founders Park have businesses working out of them, most are using modern equipment though which doesn't seem quite right somehow. George managed to get a free ride on the tram, he asked the driver if he could get on, and he said yes! He was just going to the gate to open it for the train to run. Lunch there was very expensive; mine ended up being free though, I found the lettuce in my BLT was off, so they refunded the money.
After the park we went down the road a wee bit to visit a Japanese garden, which I have to say was absolutely gorgeous! The boys enjoyed that more than the Park.

You can see Ian on top of a rock in the gardens and George and I are wearing our new hats. Top right is a water weed in the garden, it was a really nice looking surface floater.

Day 5 we went to town after spending the morning at Tahunanui Beach. I got some wool/mohair fibre from Fibre Spectrum and some beads from the bead shop there. George and Ian got a skull bead each too. We also checked out some toy shops and had to drag Ian out of the Lego section.
After that we went on a long walk to the Centre of NZ which was up a big hill. It was hard work, but well worth it at the top. Ian was stuffed though, so Thomas had to carry him out on his shoulders. On the way back to the unit we stopped at Haven Fish and Chips and got Fish of the Day (Skate) and chips for dinner; way better than the stuff we get here in Christchurch. Middle top photo in the collage below is the Centre of NZ. Top left is one of many stained glass windows inside the Cathedral.

Day 6 is mostly what's in the above photo. We went to World of Wearable Arts; well, I did. The boys and Thomas headed into Richmond for a short space. WOW wasn't so wow IMO; I preferred the stuff in the Canterbury Museum. I wasn't allowed to take photo's in there, but could in the classic car bit so you can see a classic motorcycle of some sort and the Jaguar painted like the one for Austin Powers.   After that we went to Isel House. Much better than WOW, though like WOW no photo's allowed. They've done earthquake strengthening in there and restoration; some of the original wallpaper on sackcloth walls can be seen. There was another lady wanting to look around when we came in, but she'd left her wallet behind so I paid her gold coin donation so she could see the place too.
After we'd finished there we visited Pestells to get some bacon (love their dry-cured bacon) and we got dinner supplies too; the boys got pink cocktail sausages, Thomas and I got a pork kebab wrapped in bacon; very nice indeed. We dropped all that back at the unit before heading back to town as I'd found out where Cruella's was for some yarn shopping.
If you're ever in Nelson and like knitting you must go there; they sell their own patterns which to be honest look awful in the books; however you can try on the outfits they have there to sell in various patterns and sizes.   They look a whole lot nicer on.   I fell for one in real life that I hated in the book and Thomas let me buy the yarn and pattern! I now have 14 balls of a lovely boucle yarn in a peacock/black marle; I had planned on trying a diffferent colour, but for whatever reason the peacock always gets me and nothing else looked quite as good. The pattern is a wrap cardigan with a lace trim that is optional; I'll be doing the lace. It's a bulky yarn, but looked gorgeous on.

Day 7 we started out packing for the trip back before going back to the hydroslide (this is where I tried it and was too scared to do it again). We had a bit of a rest at the unit after that; George made friends with a 14 year old and they went back to his unit to watch the Simpsons movie. We went out after a while after prying George away from his new friend to get some real fruit icecream at Berryfields. It was yummy, and while Ian refused his George ate most of his.   We then decided to drive a bit further and check out a note on the map for "Gardens of the World"; George really wanted to take a look at it and he managed to persuade us (I was balking at the entry fee); it was an honesty system, but if we didn't pay as far as I was concerned we weren't going in.   I had to admit to George that his wanting to go was the right thing as it was a wonderful garden and well worth the price.
After we'd finished we went and got fish and chips again from Haven for dinner and we ran into Joanne my knitting and spinning friend from Christchurch who was also up with her children for a break.

Day 8 was hometime. We packed up and left before 8am to visit the Saturday market before we left town. We got George and Ian a Puffin Billy Steamboat which is a wee tin boat that you light a candle and it then steams its way around on the water; very cool. We also picked up a jar of bush honey to give to our wonderful neighbours as a thank-you for looking after our kitties. The trip back home was quicker than the trip to Nelson, no upchucks, though I didn't feel well for some of it so Thomas got to drive a lot more than he normally does. I did the first hour to Murchison and the last bit from Culverden to Christchurch; the rest I wasn't feeling too good. The cats were both pleased to see us which was nice. Some of the mail I was expecting had arrived including Ian's Melatonin as well as a couple of books.

Today was pretty quiet, I did get to Knitworld and spend my voucher from my brother; I now have 5 balls of Gedifra Shetland de-lux (which I'm pretty sure has no Shetland wool in it, but is very nice all the same); I'm going to use it for something in the colourwork field. I also got 2 skeins of Knitsch yarn in my favourite turquoise as it's never in stock on her website when I check.

I'm back!

2012-01-14T20:52:00.002+13:00

Just in case you were wondering I didn't forget about my blog, but I didn't want to advertise that we were away on holiday!   We've just got back from a wonderful week in Nelson, the weather luckily had nothing to do with the forecast each day which was good as the forecast was rain every day.   We had 2 days with a bit of rain, but nothing too bad.
Thomas and I turned slightly pink; the boys didn't. We went to the beach, the hydroslide (the boys loved it, I screamed and only took one turn down it as I found it positively terrifying!), some shopping (there's yarn and a new handbag), WOW (no photo's as you're not allowed to, preferred the one at the Canterbury museum), lots of driving.   I'll post a proper breakdown later after I've had a chance to download the hundreds of photo's I took, plus the ones the boys and Thomas took too. That'll probably be tomorrow sometime.

I did get some knitting done, I'm 3 pattern repeats into the leg of my first sock; foot and heel done while on holiday.   I also got good use out of the Kindle and have now read Agnes Grey and a bunch of other classic books.

Kindle cover

2012-01-06T16:49:00.002+13:00

After the usual cleaning and tidying today I got onto making a case/cover for my Kindle. I used this tutorial to make it; really it's a touch bigger than I really wanted but it'll do nicely till I have time to make it more suitable. I did make some changes; it's just one fabric on the outside, you might recognise the owls from a prior post and I attached a button to close it too; the original had some nice applique but no closure. Normally I tend to use snaps, but the positioning of it would be risking damage to the Kindle; that and the button was perfect!

Closed with Kindle inside

Open, see Kindle peeking?

Once again completely from stash which is nice; still plenty of the owl fabric left too.

I promised a photo of the spinning too; here's the two different lots of fibre:

Left is the Merino/Silk and right is the Alpaca/Silk batts

Merino/Silk singles so far

Love the look of this so far, very pretty and helps to make me feel better about the previous lot of Merino/Silk that I gave away to a friend.

Also got a spare battery for the good camera today; always good to have a spare and thanks to another friend we got it for a good price.

I'm going to have a look at my fibre stash over the next fortnight and thinking I might spin something up for a giveaway, would people prefer a singles yarn, 2-ply or 3-ply? Also what weight? I can manage most things, it won't be as even as millspun, but that's the charm of handspun.

I've been sewing!

2012-01-05T22:04:00.002+13:00

I've made 2 pairs of shorts from an Ottobre pattern

Made completely from stash, pattern slightly ammended as I decided to ditch the pockets. The fabric is a cotton gabardine with a couple of fade marks but these are casual so I'm not too worried. Might possibly regret that later, but in general pants tend to sit better without pockets; that and I didn't really have time to do bound pockets this time. I finished these yesterday.

Today I finished my skirt; no pattern, it's just a tiered skirt with an elastic waistband

See me twirl! This is to replace my favourite skirt, also a tiered skirt which I bought many years ago from Ezibuy. Unfortunately the original skirt is now faded and has a couple of holes so it really needs to be retired; I might save some of it for inclusion in a quilt. The new skirt is completely from stash as well; a lightweight cotton fabric.

I've also started some spinning, no photos' today as they're on the other camera which I haven't downloaded yet. I'm spinning 2 lots of fibre and will ply them together. The first is some of Anna Harris' Merino/Silk from the old store at the Arts Centre; the other is alpaca silk batts from Doe Arnott which are very similar in colour. Aiming at light fingering, but it won't be finished for a couple of weeks probably, going to be busy next week.

Ooh, shiney!

2012-01-02T20:40:00.000+13:00

We'll get onto that at the end of the post. We're going to start with a few photo's from the night before my birthday and what I did on my birthday.

Sunset the night before my birthday; I need to work on ISO and shutter speed settings I think

Saw this impressive duck on my birthday; this is at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens

I don't know when they put this up outside the rose garden, but it's magnificent. George is investigating the garden behind it.

Little black ducks with ducklings; it's good to see these wee guys even if they are a bit late in the season.

Grant Thornton building; Thomas was on the 6th floor of this building in the big quake. It's now on the demolish list from what I heard.

The Re-Start shopping mall; used to be Cashel St Mall; most of the buildings were demolished as they were unsafe. Ballantynes survived mostly intact and is now up to the new building standards and open for business.

Bridge of Rememberance from the non-mall side, see the big vertical crack? That's why it's fenced off.

There's also cracks in the main bridge just below the writing on the left, I saw some in the main arch on the left as well as some to the right of Palestine. Really hope they can save this, it would be wrong if the memorial for those who fell, fell in its turn.

The Arts Centre; that tower used to be on top of one of the buildings. Couldn't get a photo of where the guild was as it's inside the complex. Hate to think what it would have been like if they hadn't done earthquake strengthening on it; people would have died in there.

The Museum where we went to see the World of Wearable Art exhibition. No photo's allowed; though at least one person wasn't aware of that going by the flash.

There was some good stuff that day, the boys were not so good; they behaved like wee trolls, but WOW was good, though busy and aside from sore feet I liked the walk.

FIL's new dog; lovely young animal. This was at our nephew's birthday party

My shiny! This was what Mum and Dad and Thomas got me for my birthday! Yay! Downloaded quite a few classics, and 3 cheap knitting books to get an idea of what I think of it. So far I'm liking it and I'm going to send a few PDF's its way.

The other thing I've been doing. Making screens for our windows. This will help to keep nasty cat out and all the flies too! Hard on the thumbs, but very rewarding.

I've spent a fair bit of today in the sewing room. 2 pairs of shorts are almost made; just the waistbands to go on; one is a tad smaller than the other due to me stuffing up on how big the seam allowances are; but that's ok (I hope).
More knitting done on my CPH too, 6" to the armhole on the back now.

Tomorrow I'll get the shorts finished, might get the remaining 3 screens done and I really want to make a skirt too.

New Years Resolutions

2011-12-31T14:12:00.000+13:00

Normally I don't really do this, but there are a couple of things I need to make sure I follow through with this year.

1. Eat better - I'm going to be trying a new way of eating following food combining principles, it'll be starting midway through January; this also involves stopping eating sweets.

2. Exercise more - this is like the eating health related; I'm sure it'll help my IBS as well as my overall wellbeing and maybe my midriff too which is a bit bigger than I like.    I really need to lose 15kg to get back to my ideal weight of 60kg

3. More sewing, knitting, quilting which will also mean less computer time. I've already taken one step towards this by cutting out my Facebook games, still have to reduce my Ravelry and blog reading time so I'll be reducing the number of groups on Rav and blogs that I follow.

4. More time doing family stuff and working on the house.   The latter is difficult to decide on until after Fletchers have done their bit and we've got no idea when that'll happen either. First thing is to make up the insect screens tomorrow and get them in place. Then we'll have windows we can open without that darned cat coming in and also no more flies!

5. Reduce my spending further.   So, no more yarn, books, fabric, notions, cameras etc unless needed.   There may be one lot of yarn to make a coat that I really want to make and of course the voucher at Knitworld to spend. I'm getting a Kindle with the money from Mum and Dad which will mean if I do need a book I won't have to pay for postage from Amazon which is good. There may also need to be a DVD recorder as it looks like our old one is having some issues and it's well past warranty now.   Hoping that'll be all though.

6. Get the garden under control and keep it that way; this involves convincing DH that we don't need that weed infested area near the fence to be anything other than grass; then I can just mow it once a week and it'll look a whole lot better.   And we'll be able to use the edging on it for raised beds for the vege plot.

Tomorrow I might also do my birthday post; which I should have done yesterday.    Most of the day wasn't great despite Thomas' best efforts cos our boys both got replaced by trolls. As a result today there has been no TV/electronic entertainment. WOW was really cool, but you can't take any photo's so nothing to show you. I took a couple outside the museum so I'll download those for your viewing pleasure. I also got quite a few in town, practicing with my camera's focus etc which was nice.
We went out to dinner to Rossendales and had a very nice meal there, love that place!   My birthday present from Thomas is going to be a contribution towards my camera and the rest of what I need to get my Kindle.

Almost another year older

2011-12-29T18:09:00.001+13:00

Tulle
Paint
Beads
Tidying
Working
No sewing

this is basically how today went, the day before I get another year older.

At the moment Spotlight has 30% off all fabric and they sent me a voucher for $10 off any spend over $10 so I decided it was a perfect time to get the tulle I need for my petticoat. I really wanted Crinoline, but it's not something Spotlight know anything about, so tulle it was. Nylon netting was suggested, but I don't want the ballerina look, something softer is more me. I don't have any ribbon to sew over the raw edges so I'm thinking I might make some bias ribbon from some of my cotton fabric instead. I'll be following the tutorial on Sugardale and it'll be for my full circle skirt.

When I got home we put the boys in the car and headed out to Acorn Hobbies for Thomas to pick up his undercoat paint.   The boys found several things in there they'd love to get, but unfortunately for them we didn't buy any of them.

Next off to Beadz Unlimited for the first time since they relocated after the earthquakes.   I now have 2 tubes of clear beads to go on my pink shawl; Thomas hated all the pink beads on it and to be honest I wasn't that keen on them either. I also got one tube of cream coloured ones to join the bead stash; all in size 5.

Home and we started tidying the lounge.    That took a while, especially with the half-hearted help from the boys.   It is now done though, but after that came.....

Work.   Had to get some done so I don't have to do any tomorrow on my birthday.   Tomorrow I definitely want to go to the museum (if it's open) and do some sewing.

Tonight will be some Xbox time on Resident Evil 5 with Thomas; after the boys go to bed.

Geez it's hot!

2011-12-28T20:05:00.000+13:00

No walk today, but Thomas took the boys off to the Dojo to watch someone with one of those floating shark things and play around. Gave me a good 2 hours of just me which meant I got my shorts pattern copied and the fabric cut out

I spotted a few more things in the sewing room I thought I should show you; first of all is the pile of work I have to do before the 16th Jan

That's a full-height wardrobe and it's stuffed up to the hangers, with more on the floor; it's about a metre wide. In future when I'm on leave I'll say no to taking work home; sure I do need the money, but this is ridiculous!
I found some fabric and yarn I haven't shown off here before; I've had it for a wee while, but not put it on Ravelry or shown it off here.

Fat quarter bundle of Kona Solids

3 yards of Kona solids

Getting decent quilting solids is really hard to find here in New Zealand; Fabric Vision has what they call Homespun which is 100% cotton, but not the best quality. It's not the worst either, but still I wanted some decent stuff. Might get the colour cards at some point, but they're not cheap either. I get most of my plains from Fat Quarter Shop in the US; their shipping is not too bad and their prices are usually ok too. I've looked for plains in quilting shops here and most that I've found are part of some other range, never seen the Kona ones.

Mythral by Stansborough Wools. This is going to be a tam using a stranded colourwork at the transition between top and bottom; I'm partway through designing.

John Q Merino Possum sockwool, this is a recycled yarn and feels quite harsh before knitting and washing; but it blooms nicely, just like the top quality yarn at work.

This is what I spent my voucher at The Loopy Ewe on, well this and a circular needle I wanted to try. This is Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock

I didn't get any knitting done today, but did finish patching the bottoms of Thomas' socks. He loves them incredibly now!

I had the leather lying around so just cut to fit and then sewed it on while Thomas was wearing the socks to make sure that it fit correctly.

While no knitting happened I did make a decision about my next shawl; I had been going to do the Seaside Shawlette but decided it wasn't really me; instead I'm going to do Frangipani which is much more me. I'm using pink yarn and need to get beads to go with it; hope to do that tomorrow.

A lovely day

2011-12-27T20:11:00.000+13:00

We went for another walk this morning, not as long as yesterday but still a good one. The boys did some pretend fishing at the stream

And played Storks on the wooden bollards

I saw some wonderful textures on the trees in the park

before heading back home. Had a quick chat to the neighbours when we got home and Paula mentioned one item of clothing that she wears a lot in summer which I have realised is missing in my wardrobe. Shorts! So there was a rummage in the accessible stash, a quick wash of some lovely green cotton twill weave fabric and a hunt for the perfect pattern. Tomorrow I'll be cutting out this pattern

This is Ottobre 2/2010 and they'll be smart shorts; not exactly vintage, but it's been pretty hot here the last few days. Thursday though the weather is supposed to change.
Because it was so nice today we went out on the lawn after dinner and played Addictionary for the first time; a good, fun game which George enjoyed as well as Thomas and I. Ian wasn't interested, but we'll play it again and try to get him interested.

I got some more done on my Central Park Hoodie, we're now past the transition chart and into the main chart. 2 rows done on my socks too, still a long way to go on those, but they're my out and about knitting so it'll come.

Tomorrow will have another walk and maybe a visit to the museum; though Thomas wants to do that later in the week so we'll see on that one.

Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T19:48:00.001+13:00

I have to say today was a good day. A wee bit of a sleep in, and after breakfast and the usual washing etc we went for a long walk for at least an hour and a half. Was a nice walk, though we saw that the local Catholic church is now cordoned off.

You see signs like this outside of many of our lovely cities churches. I don't know when this church was damaged as we rarely go around this corner on foot. We then went to one of the local parks; isn't this the nicest approach to a park?

And at the end of it is a wee bridge and the cutest thing in the water

He's arrived a bit late and was the only one there; but oh so cute!

At the end of the walk George got out one of his new toys; we got him and Electric Brain Box and he had great fun with the helicopter bit

He's just so proud of himself! He also made a couple of finger puppets from a craft kit; so all in all a great day for him.
I got some knitwear repair done, T's Christmas socks from last year are darned and one now has a leather sole; I'll do the second one tomorrow

Thomas punched holes in the leather and it's been sewn on using linen thread. So Thomas is really happy with it and he's also really pleased with his socks from this year too.

I got some knitting done too; Central Park Hoodie with Viking Cables is now past the ribbing on the back and I'm halfway through the transition chart for the main cable; it's looking wonderful!

And to finish off, gratuitous kitty shots; doing what all kitties do in hot weather

Ignore the pile of clothes; they're waiting to be put away and Ray and Star really don't care about them anyway.

Tomorrow there might be another walk, we need to get into condition as we were all pretty tired after today's effort. Work off some of the Christmas food.

Quokka Quilts comp

2011-12-26T19:06:00.000+13:00

I created this collage for a competition I think it'd look great as a bedroom quilt

The fabrics are clockwise from top left:

Warm Memories Green Tea Almond Bark

Mariposa Grove Batiks Pansy Lovely Geraniums

Kansas Troubles Favorites Gold Sunflowers

Kona Cotton Willow

Kansas Troubles Favorites Black Berry Branch

Plume Black Beautiful Peacock

Coco Berry Tonga Batiks Sea Curly Q

Blue Lagoon Batiks Royal Five Petal Flowers

Green Tea Batiks Teal Pod Flower

Green Tea Batiks Lagoon Spider Vine

I Heart Blue Vase Pattern

Comfort Juniper Plaid Floral

Kansas Troubles Favorites Black Vine

Kona Cotton Ocean

Kona Cotton Cheddar

Sunburn!

2011-12-25T18:56:00.001+13:00

Well, I forgot the camera today, again. Boys had a great time, but after 4 hours Ian was ready to go home and to be honest so was I. Really tired and I got sunburned too.   I used sunscreen, but it didn't stop the burn unfortunately.    It's not hugely bad, but it is red. Boys don't seem to be burned for some reason, though I can't recall them ever getting burned whether we sunscreen them or not; they were screened today just as I was.
Unexpectedly I got a couple of presents from my MIL and SIL; the final Lemony Snicket book (I'm missing a few before the last one, but that's ok) and an older woolcraft book which I don't have.   It's called Fibre Facts for Spinners and Weavers and it's a wonderful book of hints from various fibre crafters back in the early 1980's. So nice not to get hit with chocolate or similar this year.

Tried to play on the Xbox when I got home, but was so tired I got motion sickness so gave that up and instead started to work on my Central Park Hoodie again, not got much done so far, but closer to the end of the ribbing section on the back.   I should start on my next shawl, but not really in the mood. Should get a few more rows done tonight, hoping that I will finally finish the ribbing; that would be nice.

What are we going to do tomorrow?   Don't know, but I think it'll be quiet and maybe some exercise. No boxing day sales though.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T16:34:00.000+13:00

We went to have an early Christmas with my family today; we've done both families in the past and we find it's just too much. The boys get overdone and by the second Christmas meal we've all had too much and things tend to get broken.
Today we all went to Spencer Park, I forgot all the cameras except the one in my phone so while I took a few shots and some turned out well, most are no good due to the limitations of said phone camera. We all had a great time and a lovely picnic lunch. The boys played in the playground and no-one got sunburned due to lavish amounts of spray on sunscreen. Here's some of the photo's I took; enjoy.

The seat with a face, looks like a sleepy Manga character

George on top of the climbing frame

Ian on top of the climbing frame

One of the wonderful sculptures in the playground area

A very important rooster, he kept his hens nice and close

The peacock who kept away from my boys and refused to sand his tail up for them

A honey coloured Kunekune pig.

More large earthquakes

2011-12-23T15:25:00.004+13:00

At 1.58pm there was another 5.8 earthquake 20km northeast of Lyttleton; once again it was shallow and intense. A few minutes ago there was another one that felt even stronger than the earlier one. We're ok, I know Mum and Dad and my brother were ok after the first one but the phone networks are overloaded.
Really hope the water is ok this time, they've only just removed the chlorination from the February disaster.
Wish us luck; we're all hoping that 2012 is better for New Zealand what with earthquakes, floods and mine explosions it's not been a good year in 2011

Finished Item Thursday

2011-12-22T21:01:00.002+13:00

I have just finished Aviatrix!

Isn't it gorgeous? Nice straightforward pattern to knit and I think it'll look fab with the BSJ too.
Now to work out what to cast on next; I do need to cast on the Seaside Shawlette in pink, but that's going to be a concentration knit; I need something for Christmas day that's fairly easy to do without too much counting and stuff; I feel a basic sock coming on I think. Time to visit the Ravelry queue and see what's next there aside from my 2 design projects which are definitely not Christmas day knitting at the In-law's. It'll be a great day there, but too noisy for real concentration.

I got baking done today too, no photo's so you'll have to take my word for it. More fudge, chocolate brownie as per Mum's request for Saturday and also a banana cake (with fudge for icing) and banana bread. Yummo!

Me? I'm not doing nothin' (notice the double negative here?); but if you wants the paper, better come get it!

Our cats both have a newspaper fetish and have been known to disembowel one with great enthusiasm.

Baby Knitting

2011-12-21T19:57:00.000+13:00

First up the BSJ was wrapped up in its fat quarter and tied with a ribbon and given to the parents-to-be on Sunday and they loved it!

As you can see the colour of the fabric matched the BSJ perfectly! As a result of the enthusiastic response to the jacket I said I'd do one more knitted item and when I got home I started an Aviatrix helmet for the wee one. Not finished yet, but this is it so far

The colour isn't quite right on this one, I'm still working on the camera; didn't want flash so worked out how to change the ISO, but it's more pink than in real life. You can see the pattern on Ravelry. It's a free pattern and very cute; I think it's also unisex which is nice.

No baking yet, that's now planned for tomorrow. At a minimum banana cake, banana bread and chocolate brownie. I was feeling a bit sore today, yesterday I turned my ankle and felt the shock right through my back; had to go to the chiropractor today; luckily she had a cancellation. Feeling better now, but I didn't feel like standing a lot kitchen; that and both boys were really tired after a day at Quail Island. Groceries first thing tomorrow, then baking and tidying and cleaning.

To finish with here's what I found in the bedroom this afternoon

What do you think we're doing? We're playing pattycake of course!

Jane Austen

2011-12-19T20:22:00.000+13:00

I took the quiz and have to agree wholeheartedly; I am Elinor Dashwood.   I could have coped with Elizabeth Bennett; but Elinor will do nicely.   I'm sensible, mostly level headed and cope with most things, including school holidays.

Tomorrow is going to be busy; I have work to do, the kids want to go see Santa so I'll have to head out for that and hope that Barrington Mall isn't too busy.   I'll have to say no to all the "I want" requests; not that hard as we've just spent more than we wanted to.   Banana cake to make as our banana's are getting a bit ripe and I want to dye some yarn too or fibre with the boys helping.

Today was busy. Dr's appointment done, alternative practitioner visited and he doesn't think he needs to see me again; I just need to keep up the psyllium and he's given me some herbal teas for IBS and also that time of the month. We've ordered fly screen kits so when they arrive we'll have to put them together and put them up; hopefully that'll keep "that darned cat" out as the little bastard snuck in through an open window the other night, sprayed in the hall on the books and then on our bed before going to sleep there!   Also got the new printer on the way and a spare battery for the camera; I think my Kindle is going to be a while down the track. Got to pay for all that and then get some more off the mortgage.   Never mind, I've coped just fine without one up till now and in the meantime I'll just keep printing things off and then using a pen/pencil on them to note where I am in my knitting patterns.
I got a whole 3 rows done on Aviatrix today, hopefully there'll be more done on Thursday.

Wherefore art thou?

2011-12-18T17:01:00.000+13:00

That's the question, where oh where would you be if you were my copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac? I've found the other 3 of her books that I have, but not that one. Did I lend it out? Did I put it somewhere safe? I really don't know and I want it!

First FO of the holidays

2011-12-17T23:04:00.000+13:00

One Baby Surprise Jacket all finished. It has 5 buttonholes, but only 3 buttons at the moment as I like the 3-button look better. However the other 2 buttons plus one spare are in the envelope with the package along with washing instructions and a reminder to check the buttons are firmly on regularly. I think it's gorgeous, but I might be biased of course. I think Thomas was impressed too.
Anyway, won't get a better photo, unless I get one being worn in a few months, but it's all wrapped in some fabric from my quilting stash that could have been made for it (same colours in it).

Right, better be off, it's bedtime now, just going to stop long enough to print the Aviatrix pattern to cast on tomorrow in the same yarn for the same baby.

RAOK

2011-12-16T14:36:00.000+13:00

This afternoon after I'd got the boys home and was about to make lunch for me I saw someone drive up to our place; now, we're on a back section so most people who drive up are either known or else looking for the people in front of us. This elderly lady gets out and hobbles up to the door with a plate of cake, turns out she lives across the road and had met George when he visited his mate across the road yesterday. She wanted to say hi and give us baking! I thought it was really sweet and thanked her very much after giving her back her plate.

A completely different beast to the chocolate cake I make, but I'm sure it will be very nice.   We're going to try it at afternoon teatime.
There was a small problem when it came time for her to go back home though; as it was pouring with rain she came over in her car, while attempting to get it out of our driveway she got it stuck against the main fence post and dented the back door.   She had to come back to ask me to get it out for her, I don't know how she'd managed it, but it took me a good 5 minutes of manouvering to get it out and the door although not losing any paint was definitely dented. The worst part was she kept putting her hands on the car to stop it from getting further damaged which had me hoping that I wasn't going to damage her!   In the end I got the car out without shifting her drivers seat position (and I thought I had short legs) and off she went.   Hope she does talk to her insurance company and I'm glad it wasn't my fault, my neighbour helped as well, she kept an eye on where the car was in relation to the fence and let me know how we were going; thanks Paula.

In other news school is out and once again this afternoon I'm down to one child. After ages of George wanting to go to Mekhye's house he's been invited over the last 3 afternoons; I've never seen him get off the computer faster than he did yesterday, he was halfway down the drive before I'd even got my slippers on.    Mekhye and his brother seem to enjoy having George over and it's good to do before the Christmas rush next week.   Also Ian's been invited to yet another birthday party in the new year; both boys are getting really social which is lovely to see.

Knitting news is a bit slow, my BSJ is getting closer to completion.   I've got 4 short rows to do and then onto the button bands which I'm hoping to finish tonight.   I've wound the yarn for my next shawl and once BSJ is finished I'll also do an Aviatrix bonnet in the same yarn as BSJ.   Then I can knit for me, I need more socks as my worsted weight ones disintegrated, and I've got to repair Thomas' socks from last Christmas too, I'm pretty sure I'll have some leather that's big enough to put a sole onto them for him.   I've got to purchase a pattern for my next cardigan too; it'll be colourwork, but not all over the jersey, just in a band above the bust.   I'm not getting quite as much knitting in as I wanted though, work has just got busy and I've been asked to do extra next week instead of winding down as I had planned.

Autism

2011-12-14T11:40:00.000+13:00

For many people this is a scary word; it brings up mental pictures of people sitting in a corner, rocking and having no interaction with other people at all.    In many cases this is completely the wrong idea; most people on the spectrum no matter their age are not at the extreme end of the spectrum.
Both my boys are at different parts of the spectrum, George doesn't have any of the physical behaviours that you see with many on the spectrum.   He doesn't flap, spin, follow lines etc, but he doesn't think the same way as someone who's not on the spectrum.   His social skills while there, are not at the same level as his peers; his reactions to teasing would seem to many to be over the top.   He gets frustrated easily, especially when people aren't doing things as well as he thinks they should be (we get screaming tempers at the social soccer he goes to). We try to make allowances for this, while also trying to teach him a more appropriate way to react; one that doesn't scare the other kids at soccer as most of them are also either on the spectrum or are Downs Syndrome or some other diagnosis.
Ian on the other hand does have some physical behaviours, he doesn't flap or spin, but he does run up and down, will hug anyone which unfortunately in today's climate is not appropriate (despite this his classmates are now much more huggy than they used to be as a result of him hugging everyone) so we're trying to teach him about personal boundaries. It's a hard one though as we want him to continue hugging family, just not everyone else. He also has sound sensitivities which he's learning to deal with and real difficulty sitting still.   The only place we really ask him to try sitting still apart from school is at the dinner table, as the leaning back is breaking our chairs.
I've been reading a bit more recently about autism, I've found a really good blog which is written by a young lady who is autistic and her writings are giving me more insight into the boys world.    She's not where they are on the spectrum, but at the same time what she says is helping me to help my boys. Just Stimming is the blog.   One of the things I find most useful is that she says not to try to stop them from stimming, not "quiet hands" as it's taking away a lot of how our kids express themselves and is in fact a form of abuse.   I can see where she's coming from, although Ian's version is the running up and down giggling one I don't want to take that away from him; there is such joy in that process that I think stopping it would kill a part of him.

I also watched the movie Temple Grandin the other night; I found it absolutely fascinating and it's given me hope for the boys future. She is more extreme than they are and she's found what she loves and gets paid for it; what more can anyone ask?    It gives me hope that they can live independently when they get older, that they can find something they love to do and most importantly that they can be happy.   In the end, that's all I really want for my boys; happiness and if they're really lucky, someone who loves them to share it with them.

In the meantime we will continue to try and bring them up to be good men with a good attitude to life; hopefully we'll all survive that process and come out the other end being stronger than we are now.   It sounds like George's whining phase is probably just that and all 9 year olds have it; only thing is I'm sure he's had it for about 2 years now, is the end in sight yet?

Birthday Bear!

2011-12-10T18:43:00.000+13:00

Today was George's birthday; our eldest bear is now a big 9-year old! It was a busy day starting with presents from Mum and Dad which I got photo's of, then the party (no present photo's there, was too busy organising).

His "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" boxset


Trying out the skateboard for the first time.

The party started when his first 2 guests arrived, then everyone started to arrive including our families. My Mother-in-law had been asked to make fruit kebabs and instead she did this wonderful thing!

Fruit Caterpillar

I thought he was absolutely darling! By the end of it he had a couple of bits of carrot and a grape or 3 left. All the cocktail sausages went too as did the strawberries and most of the dip things too.
Once all the presents had been opened and the boys had had a chance to run around for a bit I started them on the decorating of the pillowcases. We had too many as a couple of people didn't arrive in the end, but George's cousin Bradley did arrive and so did Mekhye from across the road after he'd finished his sports practice. They all did a great job on their decorations.

George working on his self portrait

While I was heat setting them all they ran around playing with this wonderful thing that my Dad got at his work do

Enormous rugby ball; very cool

Once all the pillowcases were pressed to make sure the colour stayed put I took a photo of the masterpieces

The finished artworks. George did top left and his cousin top right; the rest are our other guests efforts.

After lunch we went out, the plan was to check where the Oral Health Centre is at the hospital for Ian's appointment on Monday, not much warning as it was due to a cancellation. I think I know where it is, but wanted to be sure. We went to Comics Compulsion first to get some Christmas presents, then Peterborough St to Knitworld. Knitworld is open for those who were wondering and although not using the full building at the moment they do have a decent stock there and I might have come home with some Mithral and some John Q for the stash.
If you're in Christchurch and need/want yarn do pay them a visit; I suspect with where they are they're probably not getting as much business as they used to and we really don't want to lose such a valuable resource.

Definitely open, the door is around the back, fairly inconspicuous, but has the Knitworld sign over the top of it.

A selection of yarns, this is the heavier weight section and you can see the Brother and Singer sewing machines

My favourite section, sock yarns. The one second from left on top is one I came home with; Merino/Possum recycled.

Needles including Knitpro; my favourite brand that they stock

Pattern books and more yarn.

The lighting in the back of the store isn't great, but blame that one on Feb 22nd, it's not their fault. They still have the couch in the middle of the store so you can sit and knit or peruse pattern books. Outside the store there's a lot of empty lots and damaged homes. One looked fine from one side, then you went down the road and looked back to see no side wall; the brick firewall had gone completely. It's very sad. I did take some photo's but I might post them tomorrow; really tired after today and just want to sit and blob, or maybe knit.

Speaking of knitting, I've done 29 rows on my Baby Surprise Jacket and I'm loving the way the handspun yarn is looking in it. No photo of that yet, maybe later.

Birthday plan for an almost 9 year old

2011-12-08T20:02:00.000+13:00

We let George plan his own birthday this year, I was expecting an afternoon party with McDonalds or possibly TimeOut (local video game parlour), but no, he chose at home. 6 friends and the family with a treasure hunt and general play around in the garden.
In the treasure hunt they'll be looking for pegs and the reward is going to be a small bag of homemade Russian fudge, a whistle, balloon and a mini Pinky bar.
George also wanted balloons, party blowers, homemade chocolate cake (with strawberries on top), chips and burger rings, cookies (I still have to make these), cheerios (cocktail sausages), and tomatoes. Thomas will make popcorn too.

We're also going to be decorating pillowcases. I've got the pillowcases and also the crayons to draw on the pillowcases, I also have a lovely steam press which I'll use to set them before the kids go home. I think everyone will enjoy this and it's something lasting to take home instead of the usual stuff.

Interweave Knits Winter 2011

2011-12-03T16:13:00.001+13:00

Before I get onto the review I want to say Thomas' socks are finished! I finished them as expected during the guild meeting today which means I now have 3 projects left on the needles. My Central Park Hoodie, Ian's On Fire jersey and my Beekeepers Quilt. I will also cast on a baby project either today or tomorrow, still deciding which pattern. I"m leaning towards the Baby Surprise Jacket as the yarn is handspun and that pattern seems to work well with handspun.
Without further ado, the socks:

While I was at the guild a bunch of fabric came in that had been donated; I took some home including some lovely wool blanketing and a flecked wool suiting plus some Vonella (not wool, but still lovely).   It needs a wash as it has the slight tang of mothballs to it, but I'm glad I got it. There was even some corduroy; I love that stuff!

Interweave Knits 2011 Winter Edition:
I'm finding this particular edition rather appealing due to the vintage feel of several of the pieces; now with my vintage style starting to be found this sort of thing is really nice to see. I will tackle a vintage pattern at some point, but not sure I'm quite ready just yet.   Admittedly there are patterns I want to knit that aren't particularly vintage (Central Park Hoodie as an example), but I'm not going to be rabid about it, if I like something and it'll work in my wardrobe then if it's not vintage styled I'll still make it.
Interweave Knits preview

Bettie's Pullover
This is one of the vintage styled pieces that make me love this edition. It's got the fit of the thirties and forties, but not the high neckline that came with those eras. Looks like it's got quite a high armhole though which is more like the time it's based on. I love the lace on the body and I even quite like the wee collar detail. Not sure on the styling though, leggings on a vintage styled piece? Bloomers would have been better.

Pan Am Jacket
Something about this says 1920's to me, it doesn't say what era it's based on, that's just the feel I have from it. I personally don't have the ideal figure for this particular era, a wee bit too much hip and bust; on me this wee jacket would spread too much a the front and just wouldn't look right. I personally think it needs a little more length.   Not something I'd wear, but I can see it on anyone less than a B cup who also has boyish hips.

Tweed Pillow and Seed Pillow
I've never really been tempted to knit a cushion cover, and to be honest I'm still not. It might be a good way to experiment and try new techniques, but we're not a pillow family .   They're nice robust looking covers, but I won't be knitting them.

Peplum and Pleat Jacket
I love this, well, most of it. I don't like the collar, it doesn't sit well unfortunatley and the sleeves are too short. Love the body shape though and the contrast colours; I think it's meant to be late 1940's. I probably won't make it as it doesn't really suit my lifestyle, even after correcting the collar.

Briar Rose Tunic
Ok, I know this isn't really vintage, but I do have a thing for tunics. This is a lovely shape and the detailing is nice too. Admittedly all that reverse stocking stitch would be a pain, but I think it's worth it. Only thing I'm not sure about is the short sleeves, they're just that wee bit too long to wear over a top and too short to keep you truly warm. Easily fixed though and not enough to put me off at all.

River Slippers
I rather like the look of handknit slippers and these ones are pretty, I do prefer a slightly higher instep, but I'm sure I can do something to sort that out. I'll keep these in mind for when my current sheepskin slippers die.

Quixote Scarf
This a wide reversible cable scarf with the cables on the diagonal. It is quite effective, but I prefer lighter scarves and this one looks like it's at least worsted weight if not Aran. I think the pattern if made wider would make a magnificent blanket though.

Offset Cable Mittens
I'm not really impressed by these, to me the cuff is too short and also too wide. It looks incredibly blah.

Fabled Cardigan
Ok, if you're going to photograph a piece could you at least make sure the two sides are blocked to the same length? Other than that this is a cute and I would imagine quick knit for a little girl.

Tempest Coat
This looks like a great weekend jacket to me, nice and chunky and warm, the only thing I'm not keen on is that in a few places the strands of bright yarn on the front aren't straight where the button band is joined on. Other than that though it's a nice practical pattern with a bit of interest; would love to try it in various natural wool shadings.

Miranda Tam
A very basic tam pattern with some lovely embroidery.    I think this would fit in with any wardrobe, women wore this shape in many decades last century; I can see it working with 1930's or 1940's wardrobes easily; I really want to make this.

Holiday Lights Tam
Another pretty tam, this one with lace and beads. I could definitely see me in this.

Lief Slipover
I like the shape of this, but I think it would look better in a more solid yarn. I'm also not that fond of extremely fat yarn like this and then there's the practical side of things, too many gaps for cold air.

Meriwether Wrap Jacket
Not really overly fond of this, bulky front would be warm certainly, but not exactly flattering. It's a blanket with sleeves.

Hilary Vest
This is particularly unflattering, if you have a waist it just left and if you don't you just gained a spare tyre on the sides. That waist cord really needs to be able to grab in some of the sides in as well as front and back.

Petite Facile Pullover
This looks easy and warm as well as being cute on a wee one.

Magellan Cardigan
A fairly simple 1970's style wrap cardigan in bulky yarn. Not really that flattering, but will be warm, comfy and great snuggling by the fire wear. Just please don't leave the house in it!

Livingstone Cardigan
This is a cabled cardigan with a shawl collar; it's rather cute and quite flattering despite the chunky yarn. I do think the neckline is a little wide though, I can feel the cold breezes through there despite it being stinking hot right here atm.

Bobble and Eyelet Cowl
A very chunky scarf with bobbled ends for weight so it'll stay put when you wrap it around your neck in a cold wind. It certainly looks lovely and warm.

Fauna Pullover
The shape of this reminds me of some of the patterns my grandmother had in the 1950's. Love the collar and the lace on it. This is definitely going into the queue.

Kaleidoscope Jacket
I guess there has to be one of those "what were they thinking" items in every magazine. For me this is it. Very low neck at the back, bulky sleeves and buttons under the breasts meaning that everything else gets cold. I do like the shape on the middle of the back; but I think it would work much better on a cushion cover.

Nantes Hat
I rather like this hat it has a combination of lace and cables. It's close fitting, so you will get hat hair, but with a lovely hat, who cares?

In conclusion, not a bad wee issue. Sure there's things I don't like but that's the case for every magazine, but the ones I do like are really nice! If you don't have it, might be an idea to go take a look and maybe order it; if it's not already available as an e-book it will be eventually and that's cheaper as there's no post.

Christchurch buildings

2011-12-02T21:45:00.000+13:00

I've just watched a film that Breville have put up; it's only available to NZ and Australian viewers and only for today (Friday) and tomorrow. It's about a guy who went on a juice fast for 60 days and it is truly inspirational. I've saved it for later viewing, but for those of you who can access it....
juice fast

For some reason it won't let me imbed the youtube video; possibly because blogspot is not NZ based. I don't think I'll do the 60 days, but I'm going to start juicing at least once a day after the next grocery shop, and might try a shorter fast.

2nd thing, the other day Thomas and I went into town to pick up his bike; that didn't happen due to parts not having been ordered yet, but I did get a couple of photo's using the new camera's telephoto lens. I think I need one that zooms even further; but that's a long way in the future.
Here's the Hotel Grand Chancellor as it looks now; it's the one on the right next to the tree

Its roof has come off now. The building to the far left I took a shot of too:

There was a pigeon on one of the beams on the far side, not something you see in most places; pigeons yes, but not like this. I took one last photo of the street further down on the right; a whole lot of containers there to stop the facade from falling into the street and maybe give them a chance to save it:

You can't actually get down there, the street is blocked off just past that orange sign; still incredibly dangerous in the red zone and I found out today that the bus tours are now all booked up, so my procrastination means I won't get in there.

On to more positive things, I've done some more knitting on T's sock:

Really pleased with them so far, just 36 more rows to go! Might even get them finished at the guild meeting tomorrow. Speaking of the guild, our Christmas lunch is on Sunday and as well as the fibre challenge (I made Sheepie for that) the theme for the year was containers. Yesterday I hooked myself a container for my cellphone, slightly too big and then felted it!

This was using a remnant of some worsted weight felted singles I had from a now defunct local yarn business. Lovely to work with and it's perfect for my phone! I'll show it off at the guild lunch; didn't think I'd have anything to show for that, but I saw a need and luckily it fitted with the theme. I used an online tutorial for inspiration, but really did my own thing; it's in double crochet (English terminology, single crochet for the Americans reading this)

Tomorrow I might do a review of the latest Interweave Knits that arrived today; some gorgeous vintage looking items in there, a couple I don't like so much, but still worth getting in my opinion.

Of small boys painting

2011-11-27T21:03:00.000+13:00

This morning we insisted the boys spend some time outside and when Thomas asked Ian what he wanted to paint he said he wanted to paint their hut. Thomas found some paint and then the boys had to brush down the hut before starting.

While they were doing that I took some more test shots with the camera; tried out sports mode on Star kitty

I was surprised just how quickly the next shot was taken, though she had her eyes closed so I'm not posting it here. I also took some photo's of our Peony's as they're likely to be going, the area they're in is infested with kikuyu grass and I'm figuring that the best way to deal with that is simply to mow it down on a regular basis. I'll try to move the Peony's as I do love them, but most don't like being moved and of course I'll have to make sure there's none of the kikuyu in there too.

Aren't they glorious? They do well in Christchurch because we get the hard frosts, this was one of the first honey bees I've seen so far this season which is a worry, though it could be due to the clover in the lawn not yet being in flower. Love the photo's this camera is taking, that bee was really clear!

The painting didn't last all that long unfortunately, Ian started painting his brother and he was just globbing the paint everywhere so Thomas stepped in; this is what Ian looked like at the end

it's too bright to really see, but there's paint on his face, legs and all over his clothes. He then tried to take my camera to take a photo, but for some strange reason I wouldn't let him. No way he's getting this camera to play with, I might let him use the point and shoot, but not the good one.

Spent the afternoon working and then got some plying done. I've plied off some leftovers at the end:

This is 66m of Alpaca/Merino/Mohair plied with Merino/Silk. Yummy!

The 2 I actually planned were the 3-ply Wisteria BFL Superwash

211.5m in this one, I don't know what weight yet, will know after it's washed and whacked later in the week.

and finally:

This is Alpaca/Mohair/Merino and is plied, but still needs skeining up. Loving the colours in this, reminds me of oil on the water.    Hopefully I'll get it plied tomorrow.

In knitting news, Thomas' final sock is now past the heel turn, yay!    So just 35 rows of stocking stitch then an interminable amount of 2x2 ribbing to go.   I'm hoping to get it finished this week so I can cast on for the Baby Surprise Jacket.

School again tomorrow, not sure about soccer for Ian at least as he's got a nasty cough, it's not too bad during the day but tends to kick in during the evening and I suspect that vigorous exercise is not ideal.   Got Ian's student led conference after school too, that'll be interesting.

Of icing and ducklings

2011-11-25T22:11:00.000+13:00

After school the day before yesterday we made the icing for our gingerbread and we all did some icing. Ian chose pink, George chose blue and I got green. We made royal icing for the first time ever and it worked well; the icing bags are glad bags with the corners cut off.

I showed them what to do and then they did their own interpretations. You can see the concentration!

Yesterday on the way home from dropping off the boys I heard some peeping from the drain and had to come back with my camera; very hard to get a good shot when you're not used to the camera and also the lighting in there wasn't good and I didn't want to use the flash and scare them

Can you tell what they are? 4 wee ducklings; no sign of Mum and this morning there was only one and no sign of Mum. This afternoon no ducklings at all, but no signs of wee corpses either so I'm hopeful Mum found somewhere better for them to live.

I'm in the midst of sorting out birthday party stuff; bought some fabric crayons and pillowcases and they're going to decorate their own pillowcases as well as the treasure hunt; gives them something to take home that's not a bunch of lollies too. I've got the press to set them too so it should go well and should appeal to both boys and girls. Also got the balloons and party blowers and cheerios (cocktail sausages for the non-NZers reading). I've also taken time to cut out fabric for a tiered skirt for me; with enough left over for a top. Also a couple of t-shirts for me and will do a couple for the boys too.

Gingerbread

2011-11-22T21:17:00.000+13:00

I had a quick look in Ian's birthday cookbook while the boys were at school and found a recipe for gingerbread. I'd been looking for one for a while now and I decided that's what we'd do when the boys got home from school
This is the book:

Although I'm pretty sure I've got gingerbread recipes in other books I've never managed to find one. I have made gingercake before which was yummy, but we have Christmas cookie cutters that we wanted to use.
So, we followed the recipe, got it all mixed, kneaded and then had to wait an hour. The boys were very patient and at the end of that hour the mix was rolled out (a cooperative effort) and then the cookies cut.

Into the oven for 10 minutes and this was the result

They were very yummy, Ian kept sneaking back to get more, so once they'd cooled I had to place them into storage so we can ice them tomorrow. The kitchen bench is a mess though

Worth it though; have to go and clean it now I think even though I really can't be bothered. Then I'm going to do some more spinning or maybe some work on Thomas' sock

Photography expert, not!

2011-11-21T21:08:00.000+13:00

I went and got the new camera today as well as the Xbox hard drive and a USB Wireless connector so the boys pc will be able to access the net when we want them to.
It's taken me most of the day to find time to actually set the camera up, but the SD card is now installed, the battery charged and I've taken some test shots with her set to auto. Mind, I'm not planning on using auto that often, and I did take some on macro too, but first shots were to get an idea of how she compares to my much cheaper point and shoot.
First up I took a photo of the first bobbin of Wisteria, you might remember I took a photo of this earlier with the old camera

and this evening with the new camera in bad lighting

Now, to me the colours look more accurate and it looks sharper; once I've had some time practicing I think this is going to work very well indeed for fibrecraft shots. I also took one of the white BFL I'm spinning to go with this

You can even see the sheen on this and the one wee bit of black fibre that I hadn't even spotted before I took the shot.

I also went out and took a few of things in the garden, I love taking close-ups of flowers and the old camera always left me slightly disappointed

one of my favourite camelias

white gladioli

unknown iris, love the raindrops on this

black iris, this is one of my favorite irises in our garden

And finally, the first shot of Ray where you can see her real colouring

Chocolate, not black; admittedly she's Dark Ghana, not Milk, but....

At this point with no fiddling with the settings I'm really happy and looking forward to fiddling with said settings a lot more in future. I've still got to pay it off of course, but at least now it's one more thing off my list of stuff to save for. Once this is paid off I only have a couple more things I want; a Kindle and of course to replace our shower.

Of old fashioned goings on

2011-11-21T07:22:00.001+13:00

Sunday was a day that could easily have shown up in someone's diary from 100 years ago for some parts. Sure there was the usual computer time for me and Ian (George lost privileges; more on that later), lunch was out of a can and cooked on an electric stove and we went to boot camp, but aside from that...

The day started with a sleep in, which was lovely. However when I got up George wasn't anywhere to be seen and Thomas had no idea where he was! He went out to find him, and a wee bit later came back towing a small boy who had 4 plastic bags full of clothing and a sleeping bag. He'd run away cos we are "bad parents", especially Mummy (me) as the previous night both boys had been trolls and I'd taken away all electronic entertainment privileges. The only thing missing from the picture here was the stick over his shoulder to tie the bags to. So, there went any chance of him earning back computer/xbox privileges for the day and instead he embarked on stage 2 of old-fashioned things. He's been reading his dad's old cub book a lot recently and he decided he wanted a sling-shot. Luckily we had a downed branch from the peach tree so some trimming and he had the right shaped piece of wood; he then whittled the bark off it and helped his dad attach some elastic and a leather offcut to it using the hot glue gun (this bit's not authentic, but hey, he's 8).
A wee while later and he had something to practice with and Thomas set up a target for him.

I think he's done a fantastic job and he's really proud of himself. He knows the rules, no aiming at people (there's no ammo in the photo facing me) and no aiming at windows; check what's behind what you're aiming at too.

The afternoon was spent with him practicing and me working while Ian got some computer time after he earned it back. Once I'd finished work I got the second half of Wisteria spun; now there's just the white to spin up and the plying to go.

It's so pretty, I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished object, well the skein anyway as it'll be a while before it gets knit up.

Today is wet and nasty, got to spend some of it out dropping off work and I'm going to get a new camera; I've decided on the Canon EOS550D. I was looking at the 1100 in the range, but I can see me outgrowing that fairly quickly so the 550 it is. Thomas has agreed to me getting it on HP and then I'll pay it off with my spending money.

WIP: Thomas' sock is 16 rows off the gusset shaping. Ian's jersey hasn't moved at all, so it's still about 1" into the back and Central Park Hoodie also hasn't moved. I desperately want to cast on 2 new projects but I'm resisting.

Spinning Saturday

2011-11-19T20:18:00.000+13:00

I actually started this spinning last night; this is the roving I started with. It's a Superwash BFL by Family Roots in the colourway Wisteria if I remember correctly. I got this as part of the NZ spring fibre swap on Ravelry.

Isn't it lovely?
I got half of it done at the guild this morning after the AGM. Still got the other half to go and then I'm going to spin a third single of undyed BFL to make a tabby 3-ply.

I think it should look quite good. I've decided to spin a bunch of singles and then do a whole lot of plying.

While I was at spinning this coming years committee was elected; I'd put my name forward and I'm now on the Christchurch Guild of Weavers and Spinners. I don't know what I'll be doing yet, possibly the blog or else maybe the sales table. In some ways I'd prefer the blog, I'm fairly comfortable with blogging by now and I'm happy to take my camera along to meetings and get a few shots. Really will have to consider a better camera if I do end up doing that though; the current one really isn't up to the job of good photos.

One bit of bad news, my most worn socks now need repair. They're my Noro Silk Garden socks, they tend to wear faster than others simply because they're a single and also because they go with everything, I do wear them more often. I can repair them easily enough, but it won't be in the same colour simply because I don't have a lot of the yarn left over so there's only a couple of colours left in the ball.

Bloomers!

2011-11-18T14:43:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I finished a wee bit of sewing. I'd decided I needed something to wear under my full circle skirt that would poof it out a bit and also preserve modesty in Canterbury winds.
I followed a tutorial I found on YouTube which worked well

Now, the pattern you get from this isn't perfect; front and back rise are exactly the same as eachother; but it works well enough and is comfy enough to wear all day.

No, they're not flattering, but they don't need to be. I'm wearing them today and they're doing a good job under the skirt; no chafing and a slight flare in the way the skirt sits. This is a good thing.

No sewing today, in fact not much of anything. Mum came around to show me the yarn she received, the colour is nothing like on the website, but I still think it's a nice colour; she's going to get back to them though as the colour should be at least a wee bit closer to real life. A bit of Xbox time as well, not really productive. I will get some more work done on Thomas' socks though at the boys gym session this afternoon, and maybe some spinning and knitting done tonight after I finish working.

If I ask God

2011-11-17T08:43:00.000+13:00

My son just asked me what would happen if he asked God something. The something was for his parents to stop making him do chores and let him do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. I explained to him that God listens to all requests, but only grants those that he considers to be suitable and good for us; that request would not be good for his long term development so God would not be giving it to him.

Coastal Knits Review

2011-11-16T21:08:00.000+13:00

I preordered this wee book based on the pictures I saw on Alana's website; that and the fact that I've knit designs by both ladies before and been quite happy with the end result.
I really do like it too, there are only a small selection of patterns that I don't like and even those it's more a case of they're not my style rather then me actively disliking them. What I'm going to do is post photo's I've taken of the booklet; no instructions will appear; if you like them you need to buy the book and support the hard work of these very talented designers. After having done a wee bit of designing myself I have an appreciation as to how much work is involved; and mine were only small accessories!

Bayside Pullover

This is a nice, fairly basic looking jersey which has the advantage that it will go with anything. It's knit in fingering weight (4-ply for kiwi's) yarn; this version is a linen yarn. I think this would look great with a skirt as well as the jeans they've styled it with here. I love basic items if they fit well and this definitely does.

Gnarled Oak Cardigan

I really like this one, a nice shape but still basic enough to go with most things. With such a lovely design on the yoke you want to use a yarn that doesn't compete so that the pattern does the talking. One of the best things about this pattern is that it uses DK yarn which is easy to come by in New Zealand; so many are done in worsted or aran weight and it's so hard to find nice yarn that wears well in those weights here. I have a thing for oak leaves, I have Alana's oak mitts to knit at some point too; I see a matching set here somehow.

Rocky Coast Cardigan

This was one of the patterns released early to those of us who preordered and I've seen some lovely examples. Somehow it speaks to me of evenings by an open fire with hot toddies and a loving partner. This despite it being an open front, it just has that easy look to it. This is knit in worsted weight, so not quite to easy to find here; though there is some here but we call it 10-ply.

Rocky Coast Cardign Front

Wildflower Cardigan

This is one of the patterns that persuaded me I had to have this book. I love the shape, though I'll have to order yarn to make it as sportweight (5-ply) is even harder to find here than worsted and aran. It's knit in one of my favourite yarns; Madelinetosh Pashmina. I've used this yarn before once for a shawl and it's divine! I can see this pattern in a nice maroon or a violet. Madelinetosh do wonderful semi-solid yarns which work brilliantly with this sort of pattern. Just enough detail to be memorable, and I'm pretty sure you could button it all the way down if you wanted. I do love my cardi's with the top buttons, but full buttons are so much warmer.

Water's Edge Cardigan

I think this is gorgeous, but I can't see it on me. There's a part of me wants to knit it to see if I'm right, but in general I'm not the frilly sort. I think I'll wait to see a few more completed to get some idea of how it looks on someone similar to me (the real me, not the one in my head). It's done in Aran weight yarn so would be a fairly quick knit; problem is I don't have anything suitable in the stash and being on a yarn diet.....
I do think that 3/4 sleeves would work better as the current ones end at the waist detail which makes the proportions look slightly off to me. I wonder if some of the reason I keep looking at it and wondering is the colour they've used, it's one of my favourites.

Rustling Leaves Beret

I really like this, but I do have a weakness for the beret shape. This is the other pattern that was released to preorders. Love the leaf shapes on it and being a fingering weight yarn there's no shortage of suitable yarn in my stash. I think that beret's are flattering to many face shapes; it's one of the best shapes on my face, the width helps to balance the length of my face.

Panoramic Stole

This is one of the few patterns that I just have no desire to knit. To me a stole should be lacy, however I do know people who would probably feel happier with this type of knit than a lacy stole. If I knit it it won't be for me, maybe one of my In-Laws though; the more architectural styling might suit them. At least it's fingering weight so won't take as long as laceweight would.

Cambrian Cowl

While plain this cowl has the opportunity to show off some spectacular buttons and for that reason I think I'll be knitting it. It requires a bulky yarn and I think I might just have something suitable for it; some stash diving might be required. This would look amazing with a nice wool coat.

Branching Out Mitts

This is another one that doesn't speak to me, somehow the colourwork isn't delicate enough for me. I can see it on a guy though. It uses a sportweight yarn. Mitts are incredibly useful though; I barely used my Merino Possum mittens last winter, but I did use my fingerless mitts a lot.

Sand and Sea Shawlette

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a lovely shawlette and this one fits the bill perfectly. It uses both laceweight and fingering to complete and I think the fingering on the edge will add a nice weight to it. As you know I'm going a wee bit on the vintage side and I can just see this with a Jane Austen inspired outfit.

In summary, I think this is well worth getting and it fits in nicely with my library. I am definitely going to knit at least one of the cardigans as soon as I can fit it in the queue; something else might get bumped off. I think there might be a hat too, I do need another winter hat after all.

All the opinions here are my own, I bought the book, it was not given to me and I have no affiliation with the authors or their publishing companies or associates.

The Seamless Pledge

2011-11-16T17:04:00.001+13:00

I'm taking the Seamless Pledge; link is in my sidebar. Basically what it is is that I will not buy any new clothing aside from underwear until a time that I choose. I've chosen June 2012 as my timeline. I'm also allowing myself to accept my annual free jersey from work. I'm going to try this for the boys and Thomas as well, except for school uniform of course.

I'm already working on it with yesterdays belt; though when I made that I had no idea that this challenge existed. I'm currently making myself 2 pairs of bloomers to go under my fuller skirts to stop the dreaded chafe I hope. I love wearing skirts in summer, but I hate it when you sweat and then things get rather uncomfortable. I can then make myself another skirt before diving into the stash for the next thing (some t-shirts for the boys and myself). This works in well with my yarn diet and fabric diets; I'm allowing myself probably one yarn purchase soon as I have a credit at The Loopy Ewe (might have mentioned this before) and I'm allowed haberdashery if I have nothing suitable in that stash. Not sure if this applies to quilting fabric yet; it should, but if I'm going to order a couple of things from a quilting shop (rulers), then surely it makes sense to add some fabric; maybe some basic Kona solids.

Fabric becomes....

2011-11-15T13:47:00.000+13:00

This morning I got ready to go for my next C25K run having last night worked out the apps I needed to use on my cellphone, only to find there was nowhere to safely carry my cellphone in my workout gear!
No run as a result, but a few hours work with interruptions and this:

design sketch

Japanese print, plain quilting cotton, floral print and cotton batting

has now become this:

belt with pouch attachment

being worn.

It's not quite perfect; doesn't tend to be when you wing it, but it will do the job quite nicely and I can use it as a prototype. In future I'd make the belt a little stiffer; so some interfacing and more quilting stitching. The pouch needs a little wider binding so I can double fold it; this is single fold, but it works. I can go running tomorrow with this installed (after Ian's dental appointment) with no worries about dropping my phone or getting it sweaty.

An at-home weekend

2011-11-12T17:19:00.000+13:00

well, mostly at home. Friday was a public holiday here and while most people were off to the agricultural show I went to Mum's place to do some knitting with her. I also reminded her to spend her voucher for some yarn at Skeinz.co.nz. Normally she knits for the boys, but I think I've persuaded her to knit for herself. This is a good thing, I found a pattern that I have in my magazine stash that she likes for DK yarn and I'll give her a copy of it; luckily it's not one I have in my queue so I won't breach copyright seeing as I'll never knit it. She's actually got 2 less jerseys now as a result of my visit. I left with 2 of hers that she's not been wearing as the shape wasn't right. I'm longer in the body than she is and also have a little more in the chest department so these particular jerseys suit me quite well. The surprising thing is that they fit as she's also considerably smaller in the girth than I am (she's not fond of sweets like me).

While there I finished Thomas' first sock and started on the second one; got to get him to try it on but it should be fine. Once it's tried on I'll get a photo and also cut the yarn. I also got one pattern repeat done on my Central Park Hoodie's back ribbing.

Today we got mail again so a pair of shoes arrived from the NZ Sale website; these are Stegmann sandals with leather upper and lining and although they're a trifle snug in these socks I'm pretty sure in my usual 4-ply (fingering) socks they'll be fine. I much prefer leather for my shoes.

I really like them and the heel isn't too high either which is good. The styling is classic too so will fit in with my vintage aesthetic. Sure I still have a lot of clothes that are most definitely not vintage (workout gear springs to mind here), but I am working on it.

In other news today I've been spinning more of the alpaca/mohair/merino and it's yummy. Thomas expressed a desire for it to be his, until he found out it's unsuitable for socks. Might make it into a cowl I think; then if he wants it he can wear it on the motorbike to keep his neck warm; no lace though; that wouldn't go down well at all.

Of course it's only 1/3 done; the other half of the roving needs to be spun yet and then the plying which will then give us a 2-ply yarn. It won't be suitable for cables, but maybe something with geometric lace might be sufficiently ok for a man.

Vintage is coming back

2011-11-10T19:36:00.000+13:00

Have you noticed that a lot of people are going back to the old ways? Saving things and repairing them rather than throwing them out; growing food in the back yard or allotments; wearing clothing that is modelled after vintage eras?
Personally I love the styles of the 40's or 50's; not all of them, but I love the fit and feminine look. Unfortunately my figure is not currently suited to many of them which is part of the reason why I'm trying to do more exercise so I can wear them. I'm bored with jeans and sweats; I want a little glamour in my wardrobe.
I'm also enjoying watching movies based in the past. I really want to see The Artist

and also W.E.

in both cases partly to see the costumes; and also partly for the stories in the movies. I've been watching some of my own recently too; BBC's Pride and Prejudice and Gosford Park. Set in very different time periods, but still both very enjoyable to watch for the story and for the costumes. There's a part of me would love to dress like Elizabeth Bennett; but I'm not really sure that I'm up for the stares such an outfit would attract. Not to mention finding fabric that would be just right; the summer dresses have to be a very light cotton voile or muslin; and the winter ones silk probably. I think I might have to make something, they do after all have the advantage that if your waistline goes up and down a bit the dress should still fit! That's important after the amount of work you'd put into such a creation. I think a summer dress for a start; now where's my cotton fabric?

Like many other people we're trying to be a bit more clever in our use of stuff; not throwing out veges cos they've gone bad; instead trying to use them before they reach that point. We have a vege patch, though keeping it watered this summer will be interesting with the restrictions in Christchurch. I'm sewing and knitting of course; trying to do a bit more baking instead of buying biscuits; didn't do so well on that today though. Spinning my own yarn fits in with this aesthetic as does making my own tooth powder instead of toothpaste (persuading the family to use it as well isn't working though). We're keeping the carpet till it rips; we're already down to the backing in several areas. Passing things on instead of throwing them out; our neighbours have recently received DVD's, books, clothes and a lawnmower catcher from us rather than throwing them out. The catcher had been offered to my brother but he turned it down. There are still some things you have to get new; the computer is one, when I get a camera it will be too; shoes are another. I really don't believe in second-hand shoes. Funny though, once upon a time I was all about the new, now I'm looking at old stuff and seeing potential.

WIP knitting: T's first sock is about 10 rows off completion. My Central Park Hoodie has a long way to go and my next cast-on will be a baby jacket for a friend using some of my handspun.

WIP Sewing: Nothing cut out at the moment, though fabric is prepped for a tiered skirt for me, some new t-shirts for me and a couple of t-shirts for the boys.

WIP Quilting: Just the one, and it will probably be a bit before progress on it; it's the king sized quilt for our bed using Arnold's Attic Jelly rolls; about 1/3 of the way through the blocks for it. If I can get T's socks done, the baby stuff knit and some of the summer sewing done then I'll get back to this; would be nice to have it for next winter on our bed.

Delivery Days

2011-11-09T15:53:00.000+13:00

Yesterday and today both had things arriving.

Yesterday was some Samoyd fur to spin; known as Cheingora in spinning circles I believe. This is the dog's clippings for all of his life and was offered free to Anne Field who didn't need it and asked at the guild; funnily enough I put my hand up and she gave me the owner's email address. He'd put it on Trademe, but said if it didn't sell I could have it; yesterday it arrived due to not selling. The fur at the top feels a little coarser than I expected, but then again that would be his latest trim; so might well be stronger than the rest. This weekend I'll go through it to check what the younger fur is like and also to check to make sure there's no moths in there. If there are then it'll go through the freeze and thaw cycle a few times before I decide what to do with it. Here's a glimpse of it:

This is a full rubbish bag of fibre so it'll take a wee bit to get through.

Today I found a box outside from Little Bird. I entered a competition through Good Magazine and won a box full of organic raw food goodies. There's grawnola, breakfast cereals and macaroons. Some I probably won't like with nuts in, but the rest of the family will be happy enough with those.

I had one of the cereals for breakfast this morning; picked out most of the almonds (not all) and then added my yoghurt to it; very nice indeed! It was a buckwheat based cereal with goji berries, seeds and nuts; might have to investigate costings on this one.

Also today George's birthday present arrived; it was left outside the front door and he was in such a snit this morning when he left that he never even noticed it! This is a good thing, because it was pretty obvious what it was the way it was wrapped; he's getting a skateboard.

In knitting news, I've almost finished Thomas' first sock of the pair; it's looking really good and I've got about 14 rows to go I think

He tried it on last night and really liked it, but wanted it longer (that was about 10 rows back); he'd like knee-high; but there's not enough yarn; so he's getting longer than the last pair, but not that long.

New PC

2011-11-06T20:28:00.000+13:00

Finally think I've got it set up; still have to transfer the old one to where the kids one is atm, hook this up to the printer, the USB hub (3ports are not enough), screen, mouse and keyboard. The laptop keyboard is not user friendly and on top of the desk is too high for me to use comfortably.
No crafting today as I spent most of the day copying files to the portable hard drive, then copying them to this pc; plus trying to get Thunderbird working properly. In the end I found a wonderful suggestion on the Thunderbird forum that I should install Tb, but not launch it. Copy and paste the whole Thunderbird profile from the Users Folder and then paste the whole thing into the Roaming section in users on Windows 7 before launching Tb; worked a treat!

We did take a small break this afternoon for a family walk; Thomas treated everyone with an icecream or iceblock; I tried to say no; but in the end I caved as the dairy had caramel icecream. Don't think I'll lose any weight this week somehow; got to get back to the running tomorrow. Have to take steps; things are getting tighter, this is not a good thing. While we were out I got the opportunity to try a couple of photo's with my new phone as the boys are totally immersed in watching the local carwash at work

Got another appointment with my herbalist tomorrow; Ian's got one with the dentist; so glad dentistry for wee ones is free.

Full on!

2011-11-05T21:56:00.000+13:00

Very busy today. Started by going to the guild for a lovely mornings spinning. I took Sheepie who was much admired; apparently I'm the first to finish using my challenge fibre.
Today I should have been spinning my cotton but instead I decided to leave the swearing at home and took in some of Pat Bradshaw's batts to spin. This particular lot is not really a batt; it's more of a roving and is a blend of Alpaca/Kid Mohair and Merino. Not quite as fine as what I normally get from her, but lovely in its own way.
Roving:

The blue bits are the mohair and they're working out really nicely. Here's the first lot of singles, not finished as I still have some fibre in this bag; and another bag yet to go.

You can see my full circle skirt there; I've got some photo's of that, not very good ones unfortunately as my camera doesn't do action shots very well and there was a lot of wind that day!

I was twirling too, as you do with a full circle skirt; lol. Another shot gives you an idea of what it really looks like, but in this one the light was bad, sigh.

This afternoon was very busy indeed. Ian had his two birthday parties and Thomas had to go to his nephew's 21st.   I got Ian to his first party which was a Harry Potter themed party; he came back with a dragon egg which he gets to hatch in a few days; and he has a potion too; no idea what that does.   His second party he was late to, but he and they didn't mind.   He had a BBQ tea there and got to watch fireworks; boy was he bouncing when I arrived to pick him up!    Right now both boys are watching next door's fireworks through their window; only downside is we don't know where the cats are.   Really hoping they're ok!
Thomas went to the 21st after dinner and got back before I picked Ian up, so that worked out well.

In other news I'm attempting to set up the new computer; Firefox is up and running, Thunderbird is being a stubborn so and so and refusing to accept the original profile from this computer.   Might have to delete the whole thing and start again I think.

And last, but not least, I'm no longer using toothpaste.   Now, before you go "ick" let me explain.   I've made some tooth powder and I think it's working just as well and it's cheaper.   It's not mint flavoured, this is cinnamon and once you get used to the flavour it's rather nice.    I got the recipe from Wendyl Nissen's "A Year of Living Like my Grandmother".

Of fabric, noses and baking

2011-11-04T16:49:00.000+13:00

I got home from the school run just in time, my phone was delivered! It's all charged now and waiting on Telecom to switch it over so I can download some apps and get the rest of it set up; so far it seems fairly intuitive which is good as the manual isn't the best I've ever seen.

1st thing I did today aside from the usual getting kids to school and going to work was to pay a visit to Stitch in Colombo St to see their sale. I didn't spend much, but I did get 2.5m of fabric plus a free fat quarter.
My favourite is the colourful owls on their navy background. The tan will be going with the owls even though I'm not sure what I'll be making; the salmon will join the stash and the more subtle owls will go with the main owls somehow. I think I might be envisioning a cushion cover even though we don't normally use cushions.

I might have spent a bit more today too; a grab bag of Timberland clothes for the boys off the NZ sale website and some probiotic products for the boys and me. Going to try them on Ian as there's been some research on ASD children and probiotics with positive results. Hadn't been planning either purchase, but it's worth it I think. The fabric came out of my remaining cash reserves.
I've finished my circle skirt too, no photos till Thomas gets home I'm afraid.

I picked up Ian from school as normal and the plan was to go to the gym from there; unfortunately the gym was not to be. Apparently he tripped earlier in the day and went nose-first into a metal bar; ow! There's swelling and apparently a little blood at the time, I don't know if he's broken it or not, but I figure gym is not a good idea less than 2 hours after that sort of thing. Instead we just came home and he's getting some computer time while I make pikelets. I don't make standard pikelets, these are golden syrup pikelets from a recipe my family has used for years. At the request of Nicole (Casper on Twitter); I'm posting the recipe for you.

Golden Syrup Pikelets:

1 cup plain flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 dessertspoon butter
1 tab golden syrup (I often use more than this)

Sift flour and cream of tartar, add sugar. Add beaten egg and milk in which soda has been dissolving and mix. Melt butter and syrup together and add. Mix well, but do not stir after commencing to cook pikelets.

My lovely kitcheaide is doing the hard work as you can see. Your batter should be smooth; no lumps.

Start to put tablespoons of batter in your preheated frypan. I'm using my stainless steel electric frypan for this as it has plenty of room. I used to butter it up first, but find that's not necessary and can cause burning.

after they've been in a wee bit they'll start to bubble a bit; once a fair number of the bubbles have burst through the top it's time to turn them; this one's almost there:

A few minutes later and they're half done; at this point you can't rely on bubbles to see if they're ready. I have a feel for it now, but you could put the fish slice under them and check.

And finally, all done!

This is halfway through the baking, at the end of it there's actually less as the boys keep taking them to eat, lol. I might have had a few too.

Oh, and Ray wanted to help; it seems the best way to help if you're a cat is to ask for pats

It is so hard to get a decent photograph of a black cat! I didn't give her pats though as then I would have had to wash my hands again. Now I'll reuse the frypan for dinner; we're having homemade burgers. Using multigrain buns from Bakers Delight, mince from the butcher mixed with egg and honey and maybe a little salt; homegrown lettuce, bought tomato, cheese and ham. Thomas can cook his when he gets home since he'll be late.

Taking the good with the bad

2011-11-03T14:06:00.000+13:00

I've got good news and bad. Good is I got an email this morning from EQC and they're paying out our contents! It's not in the account yet, but I'm hoping it'll be there tomorrow. Still have some bills to send them for emergency repairs too; really should get that done. In fact I'll do it today and post it tomorrow morning.

Also good is George is now discharged from the eneurisis clinic as he now wets once a month or less often at night! Bad is Ian has gone backwards and now wets 2-4 nights a week, so have now asked them to put him on their wait list; going to take him to Dr Sharon our chiropractor next week to see if that helps as nothing has changed at home or at school as far as I know. Other bad, Ian has a really nasty cavity in a back tooth that I'd not spotted; half the tooth is gone so I suspect it'll have to get pulled on Monday when he goes into the dental service. I'm feeling like a bad mummy for not having spotted it and also for letting him brush his own teeth . Also his front teeth are starting to move forward due to the thumbsucking. I've just ordered a thumbguard to stop him from sucking his thumb as he has no great desire to stop; hope it works and doesn't cause behavioural problems

Last night I cast on Ian's next jersey; this is something I'll do a bit on from time to time as I'm finding the yarn quite hard to work with; hopefully it'll get better when I go to the 4.5mm needles which are a little smoother than the only pair of 4mm needles I have. The yarn is basically a softly spun wool with 2 binding threads holding it in place; looks a bit like a boucle; but isn't a true one. Ian loves the colours though so I will keep at it.

I'm thinking I might change the pocket to a kangaroo style pouch; just have to work out the maths for that one.

Oh, and while I was writing this there was a call from the front door; my friendly local courier was there with this:

I wasn't expecting this till tomorrow, but it means I can get it set up tonight all going well and hopefully then remove a lot of stuff from this pc for the boys. Don't tell them yet though; till it's all done they won't know

A Finished Object!

2011-11-02T16:38:00.000+13:00

First up is one that my Father-in-law made for me; this is to help me when I'm darning socks; it's a sock egg made from a random bit of wood he had in his stash. It is cracking slightly on one side so I hope that doesn't get any worse, if it does he's promised me a new one, I hope this one stays ok though as I love the grain on it.

I can't test it yet as all my socks are currently in one piece; but I'm sure it won't be long before I need to use it.

My finished object is Sheepie. I'm not going to do a lamb just yet cos for some reason Sheepie has always felt like a boy.

Isn't he lovely? I really like his eyes; real sheep eyes. I think he'll go in the sewing room to keep an eye on my fibre. One nice handspun and handknit sheep with a little commercial yarn and some embroidery floss.

A new phone

2011-11-01T18:57:00.000+13:00

I'd put off ordering my new phone in the hopes that the price might have dropped in November; went onto the Telecom site this morning and it had! The phone I wanted was originally $349 before taking any discounts for 24 month contracts; $249 after that. When I went in this morning it had dropped down to $199; so I was expecting to pay $99 to get the phone. I went to set it up with the 24 month term and it was free!
This is what I'm getting:

It's the LG Optimus One P500. It has everything I need including a semi-decent battery life; a good camera for a phone (better than an Iphone) and I know people on The Nappy Network forum who have it and like it. Not having to pay for it (aside from the monthly fees) also means I can start saving up for a new camera as I really want a DSLR as the point and shoot we currently have doesn't really cut the mustard for good project shots for my knitting and spinning.
I've got some knitting done today too, Sheep has his legs attached now, still needs head, ears and fluff on his head.

He won't stand up, but that's ok; he's having a rest. Maybe I should decide he's a she and do a wee lamb; what do you think?

Oh, and this is my 100th post this year! I think that's pretty good. Tomorrow I might do a book review of my latest arrival; keep you all on tenterhooks.

A very busy day

2011-10-31T20:24:00.000+13:00

EQC this morning, we're more than likely going to be a managed claim. Most of that is due to the garage damage. They couldn't see if the back wall is damaged (too much stuff) so whether it can be repaired or rebuilt depends on that; which Fletchers will have to decide.
No knitting today, what with EQC and work there wasn't any time. So much for our anniversary, lol. 19 years if I calculate correctly; no mean feat in today's world, especially considering we still love eachother despite health issues and ASD children.
Speaking of ASD children today was their first day of soccer; George really enjoyed it, well he did up till Ian tackled him (wrong game Ian) and then bounced up and down on George. It was a hot day so that combined with Ian's bounce and a lack of afternoon tea resulted in George being unwell. He's fine now luckily. Ian stopped playing near the beginning, but was persuaded to try again by a very pretty teenage girl (he likes girls) and had a great time!

Oh, and before I forget, we have a laptop coming to replace this computer so this one can replace the boys computer which is dying. It's not brand new, it's a reconditioned one that 1-day.co.nz had up today. Thomas has always wanted a laptop and this is a quad core one which should well and truly do what we need. It has a slightly slower CPU than this, but the quad core should be better than a dual for what we do. Gaming is not something we do at all on the PC anymore now that we have the Xbox.

Dalhousie finished!

2011-10-30T20:27:00.000+13:00

Aren't they pretty? Wish they for me, but they're not. Mum, hope you like them!

No photo day

2011-10-30T17:09:00.000+13:00

Not much choice on the no photo's thing. Thomas has still got the camera at his wargaming thing.   I've almost finished the Dalhousie mitts; 21 more rows to go and then they're all done!
I'm all done in though; spent the morning doing things like washing, dishes (which T didn't have time for this morning) and gardening.   Still, the veges are all in aside from spuds; the weeding is closer to done and all I have left to do tomorrow morning is to do a quick once-over with the vacuum cleaner once the boys hit school.
Ian's got swimming at school next week; T will be going in with him for at least the first morning; I'm not allowed in the pool within 2 weeks of an IBS attack so I can't.   If things go well tomorrow and it turns out Ian's ok without T in the water then he won't keep going, his teacher aide is all set to get in the water on Wed and Thurs, but it's a different person the rest of the week.    I'm going to suggest he meet them at the pool so he can leave as soon as the swimming is finished and he's dressed.

Only one more day left in Blogtoberfest; hopefully tomorrow I'll have some idea of where we stand for the house with EQC. Might not though, our neighbours didn't get given any indication when they got assessed last time and that was 2.5 months back; they've just had a letter to say it's a managed claim.   They would have preferred if it was under the 10k; but we don't always get what we want.

I've got a list for the EQC guys, I'll be following them around to make sure they pick up what I already have and asking if we're over or under the 10k. Got copies of insurance (though it's last years invoice) and rates; plus can show them the insurance payments going out of the bank account if there's any issues. I tried to ring the insurance company to get a more recent copy of the invoice, but after 20 minutes on hold I gave up in disgust. Even if it's over 10k I'll just be glad to have moved along in the process just one more step. Should get paid out for the contents next month too, then that money can go against the mortgage, originally the money for the washing machine would have gone on the mortgage so things will even out aside from interest. Wish us luck!

Tutorial for needle holder

2011-10-29T16:13:00.000+13:00

First up I want to say I could have done this better; more piecing and the triangular needle-holders would have looked better; but I didn't plan that far ahead. Continuous binding would have been better too; hindsight is definitely a good thing; next time I will make changes to include these observations. Overall though I'm quite happy with it; it does the job nicely and you only notice the edges of the triangles if you look closely.

The important bits first:

Finished size for mine was 39.5" long and 10.5" wide, including binding. I use a combination of imperial and metric measurements as I go, sorry, that's just how I am.

Materials required:
Foreground fabric - prewashed
Batting (I used a polyester batting that was fairly firm)
Backing fabric - prewashed
Scrappy bits to make the triangles
Binding (I used more of the backing fabric)
Thread
Snaps
Dowel about 2.5" longer than your quilt is wide; I used one that was about the thickness of a pencil.

Tools required:
Sewing machine
Freemotion or darning foot
Walking foot is handy, but not a must have
Snap press. I have a Kam snap press which I use on the resin snaps; you could use the plier type on the metal ones instead.

1. Press your backing and foreground fabric. When I say press I mean place the iron on the fabric after smoothing it with your hands, lift it and place again next to where you started; keep doing this till the whole thing is pressed. Don't iron (sliding the iron around the fabric) as this can take your fabric off grain which is a bad thing. This is my ironing station; it's kept in the sewing room and consists of an ancient ironing board with a Singer steam station; which is brilliant! I also have a steam press on the other side of the room, but that's not normally used for quilting.

2. Lay batting on backing, then foreground fabric over the top of the batting and pin all 3 layers together, sandwiching the batting in between the other 2 layers.

3. Trim close to size; my batting was cut square at the quilt shop; and I did check before trimming my fabrics to slightly bigger than the batting.

4. If your scraps haven't already been prewashed then steam press them to preshrink the fabric. Mine hadn't been washed so I did this; it means that if I have to wash the needle holder for any reason the fabrics have already been shrunk so there won't be any puckering.

5. At this point I paused in my endeavors to clean and oil my machine. I like to do this fairly regularly, especially as my machine (which is owned still by Mum) isn't one I can easily replace and parts are no longer available.
I give her a dust on the outside, then I remove the bobbin and clean that area out properly with the brush as you can see. I put a drop of oil at the bottom of the bobbin casing and then oil all the red bits in the top as well. A fresh needle, put everything back together and I'm ready to proceed.

Please make sure you take this step before you start a new project; it will keep your machine running smoothly for a lot longer and reduces wear on parts. This is important for obvious reasons. I also make sure I turn the machine off at the wall if not in use, these old Bernina's have been known to blow a capacitor in the foot control which then means they will run even if you're not there; this could start a fire and even if it doesn't it's not good for the machine to be run at full speed with no breaks until you hear it and stop it.

6. Add lots more pins. I'm using quilters safety pins; they have a curve in them which makes them work really well for thicker items. I don't want this shifting around as I quilt it.

7. Other methods for keeping the layers together include quilters basting spray, or you can get tag guns which will work well too. For larger items I'm tempted to try out the basting spray, otherwise I'll have to buy a whole heap more of the safety pins.

8. Time to free-motion quilt. I followed the directions in one of my quilting books which said to drop the feed-dogs and quilt in preferred pattern. As it was my first time I went random stippling. Since making this I've found a blog on free-motion quilting which says not to drop the feed dogs as it causes tension issues (you can see that she was right, I've got lots of tension issues on the back in the last photo). She takes her stitch length to 0 so the feed dogs aren't really doing anything and finds that works much better. She also has a whole heap of free-motion designs on her website. I ended up ordering the gloves and teflon sheet that she sells for when I get my King-sized quilt to that point.

9. Trim quilt to finished size.

10. Cut binding to 4 times preferred finished width (for 1cm binding, cut 4cm wide).

11. Pin binding to edges, right sides together, raw edges matched.

Sew in the same direction for both long edges; this is especially important if you're not using a walking foot as the top layer will tend to walk forward slightly as you sew.

12. On right side press batting away from quilt, fold to wrong side. On the back turn under a small seam allowance to hide the raw edges (making sure that the back binding is slightly wider than the front) and then stitch in the ditch to secure (stitching in the ditch means you're stitching right where the binding meets the quilt; if you're good it shouldn't be easy to spot the sewing; I'm not quite good enough on this, but close). If your binding is continuous then a mitred corner would be tidier than my corners which I sort of bumbled through.
This part could also be hand-sewn, but I'm too lazy for that.

13. Cut double the required number of finished tabs. Mine are 4" square. We wiull be sewing theses together, then cutting them in half to make the triangle tabs.

14. Put 2 squares together, right sides facing and stitch all the way around taking 1/4" seams. A walking foot is very handy here.

I always press seams after stitching to set the stitches in place. This comes from my clothes sewing background, but I think it's a good idea even for quilting.

15. Cut each square in half on the diagonal. I used shears, but it would be more accurate to use a quilting ruler and circular cutter. I did mention before that I'm lazy, right?

16. Trim corners and turn right side out, press.

17. Choose your snap colour. I found 3 options I was looking at. A dark brown, a burgundy and a sky blue. I ended up going with the dark brown as it seemed to work best to me.

18. Snap female snaps to triangles.

19. Lay out triangles how you want on the quilted runner I'm doing them so the point will be facing up after being sewn; at the moment they look like it's pointing down. The top ones will touch the binding, there is 1" between each level once complete. Measure and pin in place. I used a quilters ruler to keep them parallel.

Sew 1/4" from raw edge.

Trim those corners you see sticking out and then press triangles towards top. Keep the iron away from the snaps; it will melt them (whoops!)

Stitch just inside the edge of the triangle bottom; this will keep it facing the right way and also help stop the raw edge from doing anything silly.

It also makes it look tidier; see?

20. Measure mounting sleeve, you want this on before doing the male snaps on the main section. I cut the mounting sleeve the same width as the quilt, it will end up 1/2" narrower after seaming. The length needs to be 8 times the finished depth. In my case it was 8"x10.5".

Fold lengthwise, right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam. Trim corners, turn right side out and press.

21. Pin to back of quilt with raw edges even with binding stitching. From right side stitch 1/4" away from stitching on quilt body side (not on binding side). Make sure not to catch the triangular flaps, and using thread to match the front of the quilt.

You can see here where I'm sewing.

Press up, stitch on binding stitching line from right side; this is the wrong side showing here; this is hiding the raw edges.

Turn down again but not all the way this time, and stitch on the binding line again, making sure to allow enough room for your dowel to be inserted. This gives a nice stable hanging sleeve as you can see. You could do this by hand instead if you didn't want the sewing showing on the right side. I'm sure there's a better way to do it, but I was just going for it at this point; the end was in sight!

22. Lay the quilt flat and mark the positions of the male snaps; I used a water soluble marker, but it doesn't really matter as the snaps will hide any mark.   I usually put my snap cap through the fabric manually at the mark instead of just letting the snap press do it. I find this means I get the right spot more easily and also it definitely goes all the way through the fabric which is something that doesn't always happen if you just dump the whole thing in the press.   I've had snaps and fabric damaged before doing it that way. If the snap doesn't want to get through, try using a tailors awl to poke the hole in the fabric first; don't make it too big though!

23. Iron on size labels.   I used my Dymo Letratag to make my labels. The smaller sizes which I have lots of sock needles in had 2 tags each; one for longer ones and one for shorter ones; the bigger needles I don't have many fixed circulars for so they got one each.

24. Hang, add your needles and admire!   Mine's on the back of the sewing room door, there wasn't anywhere else to put it.

a little craft helps immensley

2011-10-28T20:31:00.000+13:00

Today was started off by a morning tea out at Waitaha special school with some other parents. Was a nice morning, but the timing wasn't good considering Thomas' time constraints for his gaming and mine for cleaning the house. I did get a few rows done on Thomas' socks though which was nice; thought about taking Dalhousie but as it's charted it needed a bit too much concentration.
Since getting back I've finished cleaning and tidying the lounge, got most of the dining room done and finished the main vacuuming. I think there may still be some ceiling vacuuming to do tomorrow, but the light isn't good enough right now.
I did get some knitting done while the boys were doing their gym session though; Dalhousie is 1/4 done for the second mitt now which is nice:

I also got my copy of Coastal Knits today; just as nice IRL as I hoped

I love it! There are a couple of things I would never make, but quite a few that I would love to knit. I think my favourite is the Gnarled Oak Cardigan; yummy! I also rather like the wee shawlette on the front cover and Wildflower Cardigan. The first cardi would be a good winter one, the second would be great for summer and it's in Madeline Tosh Pashmina (which I love). I do have a $25 credit at The Loopy Ewe; hmmmmm. Yes, I know I'm on a yarn diet, so I won't do anything just yet; especially as I have a bunch of small balls of yarn on their way for my beekeepers quilt. I can drool though; I'm allowed to do that!

Another section cleaned

2011-10-27T20:11:00.000+13:00

This is the area I cleaned. This corner has the stereo up to the left (not showing in the picture), the left corner is the printer and the desk is now much cleaner. The whole area is dusted, tidied and I shifted the tower for the computer under the desk. It was on top where it attracted a lot of dust and took up a lot of space. I had to get a longer cable to run to the stereo first. I also changed to the new mouse and keyboard; the keyboard is taking a bit of getting used to; feels completely different to the original ones. The whole area feels a lot more open now. Unfortunately this is the only area I got done today; the rest of the lounge is still not done; but I should get that and the dining room sorted tomorrow.

Groceries are done for the fortnight which is nice and the boys seem to be a bit better behaved tonight; last night they were temporarily replaced by a pair of trolls.

Tomorrow, more cleaning, gym for the boys where I'll get an hour of knitting. and Thomas will be home working on the stuff for his wargaming. I'll be glad when that's over and we can do stuff together again. I'll have to go out and get something for a present for a birthday party Ian's going to on Saturday week, he's really looking forward to it. He's been doing really well back at school this week, apparently he's a lot more independent in how he's working, which is great! Hopefully they'll be able to reduce his support so the school isn't having to fund it themselves. His social skills seem to be improving as well, one wee girl in his class in particular spends a lot of time with him and loves him to bits. I have to say he is a charming wee chap, the ASD certainly doesn't affect that.

Byebye cobwebs

2011-10-26T19:45:00.000+13:00

Today a lot of spiders lost their homes in our home. The main bedroom, hall and bathroom areas were all vacuumed, dusted and de-webbed. The boys room still looks like a war zone; they'll have to work on that in the weekend I think.
Kitchen is looking pretty good, and there's a new thing of chocolate brownie there; hope this one lasts a little longer as we're supposed to take something to a morning tea. Tomorrow will be the lounge and dining rooms turn along with bathroom proper clean, the bath is looking a little on the dodgy side. The rest is pretty good, aside from where Ian missed (again). I've cleaned it, but it needs a proper scrub I think.
No knitting or spinning or sewing today, but I did some knitting last night; here's my Many Fibred Lamb

Since this photo I have attached his tail and knit one leg. Some decisions were made along the way too. His stuffing is not polyester batting, it's Gotland ram roving, so he'll smell slightly sheepy. Also I've decided his ears will be knit in the main colour too. I love the Gotland stuffing, nice and firm. Unlike most Gotland it's not one that tends to felt itself either which is good.

A multi-fibred sheep

2011-10-25T19:20:00.000+13:00

I'm going to do today back to front I think. I've just this minute had a call from EQC, we have someone coming over on Monday next week to do our inspection! Have to have a copy of the house insurance and the rates on hand; that shouldn't be a problem. Back to cleaning I guess. Had been planning more sewing and knitting and spinning, but cleaning has a higher priority now. I did get rid of more fabric this morning to the Salvation Army.

Started my sheep knitting today too, had to ball the yarn up first; for some reason a real ball seemed right.

I love the rustic qualities of this yarn, and so far it's looking good knitted up too:

It won't be a bumpy sheep, but I love the way it's knitting up. Might end up changing to DPN's though, much as I hate them, this is not working well on the fixed circular I have.

I've done some sewing too, my circle skirt is almost done; just hanging for 24 hours before hemming.

I pinked the seams for a sense of vintage authenticity.

This morning I was on my way to the Salvation Army shop and realised that my Warrant of Fitness for the car had expired (29th September, whoops!). A quick check in the phone book I keep in the car and I headed for the nearest VTNZ, joined the queue and went to pay and the lady next to me offered me a coupon to save $5 as I didnt' have one and she had two! That was a wonderful RAOK; thank-you, it was greatly appreciated.

Tomorrow was going to be a few things, now it will be cleaning and the car rego which falls due tomorrow (at least that one's not late). Almost hoping there's no work to pick up tomorrow, would make things rather easier!

So tired!

2011-10-24T20:19:00.000+13:00

Last night was a late night due to Rugby World Cup final; which thank goodness, we won! I did some spinning during the game, back to the cotton and this is how it's looking so far:

Quite pleased with it so far, definitely not as easy as wool fibre, but still not that bad on this wheel. Main problem is that it is taking a long time.   I will get it finished though before I move onto something else; might do some BFL next.
So, late to bed and then a 1.30am wakeup call from youngest who has a nasty cough at night and wet his bed.   I got up to change that out and his cough got worse, we ended up dosing him with cough medicine; blessed silence, until 8.30am when he wet the bed again; I had to get up then to catch up with the washing at least.
First load of washing out and then back to C25K; after last week I went back to the first week just to get my fitness up again, will do week 1 again on Wednesday, then week 2 from Friday to the end of next week I think.   I then mowed the lawn, so that's more exercise. Thomas at the moment is preparing for his wargaming tournament next weekend and is pretty much spending all his time on that.   I've been doing everything except the cooking pretty much.

To Christine Chu who emailed me about her plan for a healthy app.   I think it's a great idea; at the moment I don't have a smartphone so couldn't use it, but I am planning on getting one when our credit card is paid off again.   Hope it comes on Android as that's what I'll be getting.   I'm struggling with the healthy eating; a love of sweets and dairy does not help on this concept.

Tomorrow school is back, both boys are looking forward to it; so am I.   Tomorrow I'll be dropping off some more fabric to the Sallies, going into work and hopefully pin-fitting my full circle skirt.   I might also do some vacuuming; I don't want to, but once that's done then the bedroom is tidy and clean.

A long time!

2011-10-23T18:40:00.002+13:00

I just checked and I've been blogging since March 2005! That's a very long time, I had no idea it was that long.   Blogger was the first host I used, there was a short period of infidelity with Wordpress; but I came back to Blogger; it was just more me somehow. This is my 266th post; with only 34 more posts to go to reach 300 I'm starting to think about a giveaway for that.

Getting back to real life though.   Today I've been at the park doing the usual Sunday workout this morning, once again I did pretty well.   I was asked to do a sprint near the end, and I did a really good one!   I should be back to C25K tomorrow all going well.   Tonight I'll do a little spinning and I suspect that Thomas will be watching a certain game.   I'm not really into rugby, but I'm hoping the All Blacks win; the way the French have played up till now means they don't deserve a win, whereas the All Blacks seem to have been playing really well.

A bit more tidying done, went through the fabric in our bedroom last night and today; I now have a small pile of stuff to find a new home for.   Once upon a time I would have tried to sell it, but I really can't be bothered so it'll all go to the Sallies. There's microfleece, some shaggy fabric and a textured velour. The velour is the only one I'm considering putting back in the stash.   Might tackle one of the boxes in the conservatory tonight too.   I'll have to go out on Tuesday anyway, so the more I have to go in one trip the better really.

A little knitting and gardening

2011-10-22T22:53:00.001+13:00

I went to my guild meeting today and got a little knitting done. With the wee bit I did at home my first Dalhousie mitt is finished; still one to go, but I love it and am hoping I'll have enough yarn to make 2 pairs!

Now, the top photo is actually inside-out and I like it just as much as the bottom, which is right-way out. I think these will be reversible. Just one to go for the first pair.

I also got some gardening done:

That's the corn, also the tomatoes are in (under the eaves of the house to prevent frosting), onion, carrot and radish seeds are in. The boys did the seeds and helped with the other planting. I still have peas, dwarf beans and courgette to go in yet. The middle of the vege patch has done itself with lots of self-seeded lettuce plants. I gave some of those to Mum and Karen for their gardens when they came around today to do the draw for Christmas gifting. I got Dad so I think a visit to a model railway place might be in order; need to check what scale he'll be using first though.

Spinning the little sheep

2011-10-21T21:34:00.000+13:00

I finished spinning the guild fibre today, even plied it and I have 85.5m before washing. This is what it looks like:

And this is what I'm knitting it into; the handspun will be the body of the sheep and I've some 4-ply in black that I'll use for the legs, face and ears; I'll be holding that doubled over. I didn't really want to purchase more yarn considering the size of my stash. I think my sheep will have golden eyes with any luck; black won't show up.

I think he'll be gorgeous, and seems appropriate somehow. I had thought about a bag, but 85m isn't that much and it doesn't say bag to me. I didn't have much left on the bobbin after I finished plying either, good luck meant just this wee bit

Pretty good judgement for a change; normally I have quite a bit left on the remaining bobbin.

No sewing done today, but at least the fabric for the second skirt is preshrunk now. Tomorrow I shall be going to the guild (if my nose cooperates). Tonight I'm knitting the gift for my mother and watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (and hoping Wales wins the rugby).

Finally, here's youngest with Star, she was purring at the time. She's never happier than when someone is patting her, or even better scratching her chin. Ian is always very proud when he gets her purring.

Finally, craft time!

2011-10-20T19:36:00.000+13:00

Admittedly not a huge amount of craft time, but I have cut out a skirt in this fabric:

From memory this is one of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks prints on a cotton voile base; very good quality and it's going to be a full circle skirt. I've not had one of those for years, but seeing as I love the vintage look I can pair this with a nice fitted top or twin set (have to knit that first). It may even look good with my one hand knit top. I will probably have to wear a half-slip under it and I suspect later I'll have to downsize it, but you can't sew for the size you might be when you're short on stuff to wear now.

I've also prewashed this:

This will be a tiered skirt to replace my current one which is really well past it's use by date. The current one has various laces on it, I don't think I have any in my stash that match this so it'll be plainer, but the fabric has the slightly gathered look that works so well for these skirts.

Once these two are all finished, which shouldn't take too long as both are simple patterns, I'll be making some new tops for the boys for the summer.

Got a little more tidying done too, less paper in the bedroom now, still a wee way to go yet though; some dustbunnies in there are getting vicious!

The boys got home from Grandma's today too, they had a great time and maintained good behaviour until this afternoon. Not quite so good at the beach. They went to see the latest Spy Kids movie which they loved!
When they got home they wanted to go on the computer, unfortunately for them there was baking instead. We made chocolate brownie; yum!

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

2011-10-19T20:41:00.000+13:00

And oh boy, was it raining! Really pouring down and major wind as well. This is what I could see out the window for most of the day

Now, it looks like the camera is out of focus, it's not. The rain on the window is so thick and horizontal that you couldn't see clearly outside.
I went out at one point to check for mail, there wasn't any but the water race beside our driveway was up past the bottom of the top board. Thomas and I went out again half an hour later after the rain had eased up a bit and I took these photo's

This was the most noticeable damage that I spotted on the first trip down the drive; there were 2 others like this, so there will be a trip to Mitre 10 to get some new boards.

It's dropped, you can see the bottom of the top board; 30 minutes earlier you couldn't. The concrete you can see at the front is the top of the pipe that goes under the road; I could see perhaps 1mm of that when I took this photo; earlier it wasn't showing at all.

This is the end of our driveway; about 30cm deep. It should be all gone by now. Before the earthquakes I'd never seen the water get this deep; it gives some indication of just how the drainage is affected even in areas like ours that don't look that bad. I really hate to think what it was like over in the eastern suburbs.

One good thing though, no good reason to go anywhere so I got the sewing room finished; I've still got fabric to go through, but this is the finished room.

Much better, I'll hopefully get some fabric cut out tomorrow which would be nice. The jersey on there is my Jetty tunic which is blocking after being washed this morning. This will let me know if I do need to add some more to the bottom.

Day 18 - getting tidier!

2011-10-18T22:17:00.000+13:00

I spent much of the day tidying the sewing room today. It's not finished yet, but is much closer now. 2 bags of recycling, another of rubbish and a lot of reorganisation turned it from this:

To this:

Definitely better; still a couple of containers to go through and those folders on the table will go back under the chest of drawers after I vacuum. Then I can do something about blocking my Jetty jersey properly and maybe cut out a skirt to replace my favourite tiered skirt; which to be honest is past tired and should be well and truly retired. A full circle skirt would be nice too and then maybe some stuff for the boys.

A quick update on the cat door. Neither cat is keen, though both have used it to get out and Ray at least has investigated getting in; I keep hearing it click as it releases, but she doesn't come that inch further to actually open the door. Star is definitely not keen, but if she wants to get in, she'll have to use it!

Day 17 - installing a cat door

2011-10-17T22:15:00.000+13:00

The new cat door arrived this morning, so of course I had to install it straight away. First thing was to get the old one off; that was fairly quick and then this is what that looked like

Not overly clean, and the glass underneath was worse; so a cleaning up using water and paper towels ensued. Once that was done the next step was of course the reading of the instructions, followed by checking to make sure it would cover the hole; which it did. I determined looking at the fitting system that it would need some help to stay put, so out to the garage to find some silicon sealant/glue; this was recommended for larger holes in the instructions too. Found some that was still good and applied it to one side, put the insert on, realised it was on sideways before it sealed thank goodness; adjusted, checked it was level and then blocked the whole door off from outside and in for 2 hours to allow it to cure enough to hold. 2 hours later, the other side has the same treatment and I get the rest of the door on.

Isn't it nice? Batteries in, learning button hit and no cats to be found anywhere. Another hour later and one turns up; won't go through, but does go through enough to be picked up on the learning program. Another hour later and I nab cat number 2 (Star) and give her the same treatment; so far neither has gone through under their own recognizance, but at least no-one else can come in! Here's hoping they work it out over the next day or so so I can get rid of the cat litter tray. Unfortunately installing this thing took up much of the day, so no real tidying. I did however go through a container in the sewing room and tidy that; as well as choosing some fabrics that have to be sewn up soon. I found a textured cotton voile which will make a lovely tiered skirt; and a printed cotton voile for a circle skirt; just got to get those cut out. There's also some lovely quilting cotton that I got to make myself a dress; but I'll wait on that one.

Last night I got some drumcarding done too. This is Romney/Merino/Silk/Glitz/Corriedale/Merino/Silk/Cotton all carded together which I'm hoping to spin in the next week or so. 2 batts; one pass. I tried a second pass on a bit and decided it wasn't going to work with the cotton component. Fingers crossed it spins well.

Tomorrow the boys go to Grandma's for a couple of days, tidying, sewing and spinning will be happening; oh and installing a new smoke alarm in the hall as the old one went doolally this morning and the hush button wouldn't work. Battery has been removed and I'm grateful we have the bedroom ones as well. I'll pick up a replacement tomorrow at the same time as the PVC cement for the downpipes and the milk and juice (though from different stores)

Day 16 - Exercise and rugby

2011-10-16T19:14:00.000+13:00

This morning I slept in and then went straight to our Boot Camp which we do every Sunday morning. I did pretty well I think, and our trainer said I did too which is a good sign. Unfortunately since then I've been sitting on my bum working.
No tidying done and I can't see much being done tonight either with the semi-final of Rugby World Cup tonight between New Zealand and Australia. Like most Kiwi's I'm really hoping that tonight NZ wins; and like many I was disappointed that Wales lost last night. I might get some knitting done though; will have to be something simple though as even I will probably find the semi-final a tad exciting. Might try and get that drumcarding done too.

Day 15 - a day of much cleaning

2011-10-15T18:11:00.000+13:00

Earlier this week a box arrived at the door, I saw it on the 1-day webiste and thought it'd be a really good idea; here it is:

Now, the reason I wanted it was this:

This is the dining room carpet; ick is probably the right word for this. Now in the next year it should be replaced with vinyl planks, but in the meantime something needed to be done. We can't do the new planks until EQC has assessed the house and we know what else needs to be done; that could be a bit yet, especially if it gets to the dollar value where Fletchers takes over.

This morning I unpacked the new beast and this is the same spot of carpet after cleaning:

Still not as clean as I'd like, but cleaner than I expected so I'm happy enough! Once the carpet in there is replaced we'll still need it as eventually we'll be replacing the carpet in the lounge and the bedrooms. They're worn through to the backing in some areas.

After I'd finished cleaning the floor I did the dining room chairs as well which look much better! I also did the lawn and then went into the sewing room to get more done on that. This is how it looked before I started cleaning:

at the moment it still looks like this, however I've cleaned out 7 drawers and refilled 5 of them. I've also sorted through the top 3 baskets and have put more yarn away too. Hoping to get more done tomorrow so I can work out where to put all the stuff that's currently on top of the table and sewing desk.

In other news, my Wollmeisse arrived from The Loopy Ewe; this is the reward for completing Camp Loopy a month or so back. I'm really happy with it, there were a few skeins other people got that I hoped I wouldn't get, luckily mine is a lovely colour!

Day 14 - table, what table?

2011-10-14T20:22:00.000+13:00

Today was supposed to be spent tidying the table in the sewing room, but I got sidetracked.   There was some Left for Dead 2 time on the Xbox; Thomas and I are doing quite well on that now.   The boys were off to swimming and 10-pin bowling so we could play R18 games safely.
I did get a little tidying done in that room, just not on the table; in fact I think there's more stuff on there now!   I've cleared out 7 drawers though and am planning on getting them sorted tomorrow. At the moment I have 4 plastic bags, one with general sewing things, one with quilting specific stuff, one with general craft stuff which includes my needlefelting gear, my Dymo label maker and also my bejeweller.   The final one is crochet and knitting stuff; now that I have my needles mostly away this isn't too big.   I've got my straights in a needle roll I made a while back, my circulars either in a Della case or on the quilted holder I made last week.   I think I need to make 2 more rolls; one for crochet hooks and the other for my DPN's. I might not use either very often, but I'd prefer to have them in one as it makes it easier to find what I need.
As well as those bags I also have a pile of scissors, I love my scissors. I have 3 for cutting out including a pair of Ginghers that I've not yet used; my Kai are my favourite at the moment, but the Mundial are good for slippy fabrics as they have a slight serration. I've also got several embroidery pairs too; plus some in my knitting bags.   Good tools are important; just as well really considering how many I have!

I've decided I'm going to cast on one more project for knitting too. Wandering Cat Yarns is having a KAL for a project using her yarns or her patterns, the project can be anything, but must be gifted afterwards. This is the perfect time for me to cast on for my Dalhousie Mitts.   The pattern is hers, and the yarn I've chosen is hers as well; I'm planning on making them for my Mum as I already have a pair of thicker fingerless mitts in a similar colour.   She has arthritis in her hands and I can see her getting a lot of use out of them next winter.
This is the picture from the original pattern:

and this is the yarn I'll be using:

I think this should work brilliantly and will be nice and cheery in the middle of winter. I'm going to try and get them done for Christmas; I know Mum will appreciate my knitting simply as she liked the shawl I made for her a while ago. She's even taken that to her craft group and shown it off where it was much admired.
Admittedly it's going into mid spring here, but that's ok; winter will come way too soon!

Day 13 - T shirt Tutorial as promised

2011-10-13T21:35:00.001+13:00

First up you need a good fitted t-shirt pattern. The one I have is from the first Ottobre Woman magazine, it's also available as a separate pattern from their Website (2nd from top on the RHS). For me it's an excellent pattern with a good size range, different sleeve and neckline options as well. Next time I might remember to add a touch more length, but otherwise it'll do me nicely.

Next choose your fabric; the fabric I'm using is a cotton/lycra blend with a dot print. It has good recovery and the recommended amount of stretch; it's also fresh and summery.

My method doesn't come from the Ottobre mag or from Kwik Sew; it's just what I've ended up doing after following their instruction before now and choosing what worked best for me.

Now, in my machine arsenal I have a sewing machine (2 actually), an overlocker and a coverhem. It is possible to sew with just the sewing machine, but I really do recommend an overlocker as well if you can manage it. On this t-shirt I only used the sewing machine once.

First step for me is to turn up the hems. I normally sew a 1"(2.5cm) hem but turn up 1 1/4" to ensure that my hem is properly caught on the wrong side.

This is my coverhem, she's a Janome CP1000. I've threaded her up with normal polyester thread in the two needles and the looper is using woolly nylon; as you can see I've bypassed the tension disc for the nylon as otherwise it'll pull and the hem won't look good. You may also be able to see I've used a permanent marker to mark the 1" mark on the machine as a guide. I'm using the left and right needles, not the middle one; in fact I don't think I've ever used the middle one. I start sewing at the beginning of the fabric, much as I do for sewing, but as there's no backstitch it's right on the edge; often I'll use a scrap from a previous project to start in the middle of just to get things going without bunching.


This is the finished hem on the back; as you can see with the woolly nylon being untensioned it's looking really flat and professional. Once I've finished the first piece I then continue sewing the next piece. I do this for front, back and both sleeves. You can do this in the round, but I find it a pain to do and always seem to have problems with finishing the ends.

At the end I sew off onto a scrap piece of fabric, I then cut the threads between the t-shirt and the scrap. I then leave the scrap under the foot for the next start.

My next step after separating all the pieces from eachother is to cut a piece of twill tape (you can use clear elastic if you prefer). I cut it to the size of the shoulder seam; this lends stability so the shoulder won't stretch out of shape with wear. Most RTW garments have this touch too.

Making sure the tape, front and back shoulder seam are even, and right sides together get ready to stitch. You could pin it, but for such a short and straight seam I don't bother. That and when using my overlocker the less pins the better.

Start overlocking. If using your sewing machine for this you'll need to use the machine's overlocking stitch; or failing that stretch or zig-zag will also work.

Whoops, the twill tape moved towards the blades a bit here, however it will still do it's job and the fabric did not move so all is well.

Here you can see both shoulders are sewn and we're marking centre back and centre front with pins. We will then match those pins and put the edges of the neckline together until we reach the side quarter marks; this is not the shoulder seams. The back-neck is actually shorter than the front, so we want the exact halfway point.

see, pins together on top of eachother

and you can see as the fabric moves along the halfway point is onto the front, past the shoulder seam. Mark this with a pin too. Do the same on the other side; you now have 4 pins in your neckline dividing it into quarters.

Now it is time to get our neck facing ready. Mine is cut from the same fabric as the t-shirt and is slightly smaller than the neckline on the main pattern. I'm folding it in half with the short ends together, right sides facing eachother and this is where I use my sewing machine for the first time to sew a 1/4" seam. This won't see any real stretch so I'm using straight stitch. Can you see more permanent marker? I love that stuff! On this machine the marker is covered with clear nail varnish to stop it wearing off the enamel paint.

I am now folding the neck facing wrong sides together and putting the first pin at the seam; this is the centre back. I will find the centre front by putting that pin on the left, folding it at that point and flattening it; the far right will be the centre front.

Now, just like on the t-shirt I'm putting those 2 pins one on top of the other and the far edges are the other 2 quarter marks. Place a pin on each.

Here we are with 4 pins; doesn't look like much at the moment, but....

Now we match the pins on the binding to the pins on the garment; be very careful to make sure that your seam on the binding is matched to the centre back; I've done it wrong once and I don't recommend it unless you like undoing sewing; I don't, lol.

Here, I am sewing the binding to the neckline from the right side of the garment. I start near the centre back, and as I go I stretch the binding slightly so it fits the neckline of the t-shirt. You don't want to stretch the neckline as you'll end up with a wavy look; best to go slow on this. Also make sure to remove pins before they get near the blade; use your fingers on that point as a temporary pin. If a pin goes under the blade at best you'll blunt your blade; at worst you could injure yourself, or put out the timing on your machine. Both are expensive to fix, and damage to either could be permanent; so instead lets just be careful.

Once I've finished the neckline I like to pull the overlocking tails through the seam to secure them. I use a tool which is made from a knitting machine hook; this one is fairly fine. The main one I use has a dowel handle, but I couldn't find it for this picture. You can just thread them onto a darning needle and pull them through that way.

If you wanted to you could use your coverhem to make the seam lie flat, but I've never found it to be a problem when I'm wearing them. Now look at that, a nice smooth neckline all finished; that's the hardest bit over in my opinion.

Now for the sleeves; most patterns you'll find the sleeve will have 2 notches. One for the shoulder seam placement and the other will be echoed on the main garment. You can see here I'm pointing at them; if you don't match them the sleeve won't sit correctly. Some patterns are drafted in such a way that the sleeve is the same both sides; Kwik Sew is one that does this; I find a sleeve like the one above tends to fit better. Match those notches, and make sure you have right sides together. If you find that your right sides are together but the notches are on opposite sides of the garment, then swap your sleeves to the other side; you've got the left sleeve on the right side of the garment, or vice-versa.

You can see here the 3 pins I use. One at the side seam, one at the shoulder seam, and one at the notch.

Making sure your raw edges stay together and if need be slightly stretching to fit, carefully sew around the sleeve seam, removing pins before you get to them again; make sure all notches are in the right places.

There, nice smooth seam. Best part, you're almost done!

For the side seam I don't pin at all, I match the 2 sleeve hems together, and overlock down the side, also matching the underarm seams together; the internal corner is the only tricky bit as you go around that underarm seam. As you approach it, straighten the two edges, the fabric will form a bubble to the left, but should be flat and go through the machine nicely at the edge.

Keep going, hold the bottom hems together, if need be put slight tension on to keep both sides even. I do this right from the beginning so don't normally have any seam movement and my edges are more often than not even. As you did for the neckline, pull the overlocking ends into the overlocking seams, and you're done!

Isn't it lovely? It sits better on me, cos unlike Bonnie here I don't have gaps in my middle. I think I might possibly have to use some batting to fix that problem.

I've started eating raw garlic; I apologise for any odour, but it's part of the campaign to get my bowel back on my side. Garlic kills the bad guys, but leaves the good guys alone; I will still have to repopulate, but going by the reaction so far I think it's working, but although I'm going to the loo a few times it's still much better than the normal IBS version. I figure that's my system chucking out the bugs that last nights half clove killed off. Last night I swallowed half a clove in one piece with milk. After a little research today I went looking for salsa and failed to find it; instead I'm using a dried tomato and parmesan dip (which is yummy!). I've taken probably half of the garlic so far and I'm going to stop there as it was a big bit and I don't want to go too fast.

Day 12 - cat issue resolved (we hope)

2011-10-12T21:34:00.000+13:00

After some research, a little asking on the Nappy Network forum and some searching for the best price we now have a Sureflap Cat Door on the way; not cheap at $257.50 including post, but that was the cheapest price we found and included the glass adaptor so we can fit it in the back door hole.   Just hope like heck it fits; the only other type of door I found needed a much smaller hole and also cost about $100 more, eep!
Tonight I'm hoping the cats will both stay inside; at the moment I don't know where Star is, but Ray is inside and we have a litter tray as well so if she needs to go she can. The cat door is now locked both ways.

In other news I've done some tidying today; all the drawers that I use in our bedroom are now tidy; there's three bags in the car of clothes that are either going to the rag bin or else to the Salvation Army; including 2 handknits that I really don't like; so hopefully they can find a new and appreciative home.

I'm doing a touch of knitting on my Central Park Hoodie tonight; for the first time I'm trying out cabling without a cable needle. I've seen other tutorials, but they all seemed to leave the second lot of stitches sitting out there and hoping they'd not unravel. This to be honest scared the crap out of me!   Then the other day I saw this on Life on Laffer and it suddenly made perfect sense.   I've tried it and it works!

I also tried making my first dryer ball today; I was using Gotland wool and I was expecting it to felt really easily, but it had other ideas. I've got it sort of felted, but at this point I'm thinking I might have to use my needle felting equipment instead, at least to get it started.

In other news my Merino is dry so I'm hoping to start getting it all ready to spin tomorrow once I've done work, groceries and my run.   Boys are still being pretty well behaved for the holidays so I have some hope I might actually get to do it.   Since I've got a mix of fibre I'm considering making batts on my drum carder; wish me luck!

That Damned Cat!

2011-10-12T08:51:00.000+13:00

Not ours, though if we didn't have them we wouldn't be having the problems we are.
A while back we locked our cat door one way only (out) so our cats could get out but the other local greedy cats couldn't get in. Recently though I've been catching wiffs of cat pee and wasn't sure where it was coming from. Yesterday it became obvious from the moment I walked into the lounge that we'd had a visitor as the smell was really strong and I traced it to the bean bags. Fabreeze didn't do much to move the smell so the next nice day I'll have to wash them with the hose outside.
Last night at 4am there was a cat fight in our laundry, when I went in they'd scarpered, but not before leaving 6 separate spray trails in that room! I've cleaned it up, but we're going to have to lock the cat door completely and put a litter tray down for a wee bit as a short term solution. The long term solution is going to be expensive; we're going to get a microchip activated cat door. Just hoping that Ray can still get in as I think her chip has moved a wee bit.
One of the collar activated ones won't work as our kitties have never worn collars and since they spend a lot of time in trees I don't want to risk that; lost collars get expensive and tangled cats are not pleasant either.

Day 10 Blogtoberfest - not according to plan

2011-10-11T21:06:00.000+13:00

I had planned some tidying, a tutorial and some removal of clothes I no longer wear. Instead I ended up working a fair bit of the day and I'm finally succumbing to the cold that George has been sharing with us so lovingly. I have had it sitting there for over a week now, but today it sat down properly and I'm coughing and sneezing. I could say exercise caused it as I started the C25K today, but I'm pretty sure it's not that.
Never mind, I got the boys to try on shin pads this morning and we have one pair. Waiting on a phone call to say the second pair is in store to pick up.
Thomas is booked in for the chiropracter tomorrow morning, I've been working on him for ages to try and get things aligned better so I don't have to keep working on his back; it's really, really tight!
The boys had a great day today, this afternoon they got Xbox time and both of them stayed really well behaved all day! If I keep feeling like this there may well be more Xbox time tomorrow too; not what I'd intended, but illness is a good reason, right?

Day 10 Blogtoberfest - a t-shirt

2011-10-11T11:07:00.001+13:00

There will be tutorial for this later, but I forgot to post last night and need to get this one done before I start work.

I used an Ottobre pattern, but I put it together using my own method which I find works well for me.
Also my needle hanger is now up on the back of the door

Did I say how much I love this?

Day 9 blogtoberfest

2011-10-09T19:22:00.000+13:00

No sewing today, just lots of washing, dishes and work, oh and spraying seaweed feed on my fruit trees. I did turn the heel on Thomas' socks last night so it's just the leg to go.

This is Opal sock yarn, and I'm using Vintage Purls basic sock pattern which works out perfectly for Thomas' size 10 hoofs. I had originally planned on making him grey socks, but when I found the second half of the Opal ball I decided to go with this instead. This means I have 3 things on the needles, but 4 showing on Rav. The other 2 WIP's are the Beekeepers Quilt, my Central Park Hoodie with Viking Cables; the 4th item is not actually cast on yet; but it's a fairly basic jersey with a zip placket in some fire coloured yarn that Ian fell for in my stash. I really should put it on the needles.

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my alternative practitioner for my IBS; hoping we might be able to go to monthly appointments soon, fortnightly is getting expensive. It is helping though, despite the peppermint issue I've had much less problems since going on this course of herbs and psyllium. The boys are going to Orana Park tomorrow with the Autism Society so they'll have a ball. I'm hoping to get my t-shirt sewn tomorrow and maybe some tidying done in the sewing room and our room. I need to clear out a drawer to put my workout gear in.

Day 8 - A finish line reached

2011-10-08T18:12:00.000+13:00

I've finished my little mystery quilt; all I need now are 2 cuphooks to attach it to the back of the sewing room door and it'll be in use.

As you can probably tell it's for holding fixed circular needles and seems to work quite well. I will post the tutorial, but not right now as it'll take a while to get all the photo's downsized and write the whole thing up. Might have to see if I can set it up in word and then copy it over here. Still got to write up my mitten pattern too.
I'm really happy with it, a couple of things that I could do better; a little more fabric above the snaps to make it easier to grasp them, and I'm sure there's an easier way to put the hanging sleeve on the back; but aside from that it's exactly what I need.

I'm going to get some work done now, slightly achey after all the snapping unfortunately, but I still have to get the work finished even if I ache. My workout tomorrow morning should fix that anyway. Going to spend the night killing zombies with my beloved once the boys are in bed.

Day 7 Blogtoberfest - of triangles and wool

2011-10-07T21:37:00.002+13:00

Didn't hear about the trampoline mat today, so another weekend with no working tramp; poor Ian.   Also don't know if the Xbox is on its way or not, suspect not.

Been pretty busy again though. We've taken down the bunks and the beds are in a temporary position; hopefully this weekend we'll get the other furniture out of the way and give the boys a bit more room; I have no idea where we'll put the furniture though.   Picked up two school desks and 2 chairs from school this morning, going free as all desks and chairs are being replaced.   One had mildew on the top from a spillage, but a spray of vinegar put paid to that; they still need a proper scrub, but they're not looking too bad.

Yesterday I got a wee bag of fibre in the letterbox, it wasn't mail, it was from our guild challenge for the Christmas lunch this year and Joanne had picked up a bag of it for me last Saturday. Each bag included some fine raw merino, silk, cotton, romney and corriedale.    We have to spin/knit/crochet/felt/weave it into something for the display of work.   I can't spin raw Merino, so tonight I was washing it, staple by staple.    It's something I don't enjoy, but unfortunately there isn't much other choice seeing as Merino is prone to felting and I couldn't find my wee vege bags that I normally use.

They should be dry by sometime tomorrow and then they'll puff up and I can start planning what I'll do with them.

Also today I got some more work done on the mystery item. I used this:

after I'd decided what colour snaps to use:

There were 3 colour choices; the one on the far left was a deep maroon, middle is dark brown and right is baby blue. I ended up going with the dark brown as it looked nicer somehow. All I've got to do now is work out the positions of the tabs, sew them in place and then put the male snaps on the backing; iron on the size tags and sew on the sleeve at the top so I can hang it on the wall. I think it's going to look fantastic!

Day 6 Blogtoberfest

2011-10-06T20:57:00.000+13:00

Been fairly busy today. Got a new cord so I can shift my computer tower down to the bottom of the computer desk which will give me more space on the desk to make a mess. Then I dropped into Riccarton Mall to hand in George's competition entry; hope he wins something it would make his day. Seeing as I was there I dropped into Borders which was still open, they had some good specials on DVD's and kids books; $40 later I had a bunch of books to try out on George, a movie for Thomas (Gamer) and one for me (Secondhand Wedding). I also picked up Jane Eyre for me, I've never read it and it was only $10 so worth looking at.

After I got home I finished cleaning my sewing machine and overlocker

all lint now removed and all oiled as well. Then back to the quilting.
Here's the quilted item with the bindings applied

Now, my binding corners leave something to be desired; normally I'd make a continuous binding, but I didn't think of that till it was too late. As a result the corners are a bodge job; but it works all the same.
And, for those of you still working out what it'll be, here's a clue:

Tomorrow I'll hopefully get the final bits on, including the sleeve at the back to hang it up with.

I'm also hoping to hear from the trampoline place tomorrow, please? Ian's getting antsy and I think he needs some bouncing. He turned back into a troll tonight, so hopefully some exercise will help get that out of him; he tried to throw George out of the top bunk tonight, literally! He knows I'm not at all happy about that; and that I'm thinking of taking the bunks down; have to discuss that with Thomas first though.

Day 5 Blogtoberfest

2011-10-05T20:35:00.000+13:00

Fairly quiet today in some ways; I didn't go out aside from the school run, and I got a reasonable amount of sewing done.

1st up I finished my trousers and they fit perfectly! Hopefully they'll get too loose soon and I can take the side seams in.

Ignore the tummy, that's a combination of the IBS and a little extra padding. My personal trainer says my tummy muscles are really strong though, so at least that's one good thing. I think the IBS thing might be improving too, so have hopes the inflamation will improve too.

Once I finished the trousers I did my first ever free-motion quilting on my mystery item; here's a peek. The photo is part of my tutorial shots so the pins are what I used to hold the layers together; not a hint as to the use it'll be put to.

My free-motion quilting leaves a bit to be desired, my tension went AWOL on me; but after doing some reading on The Freemotion Quilting Project I've got a few new things to try, including not dropping the feed dogs, but instead placing the stitch length at 0. I also spent the rest of my spending money at her quilting shop getting some quilting gloves and a teflon glider thing for the machine bed. Unfortunately I can't afford the nifty wee table she uses, but this should help; and considering I have a king sized quilt that I'll be quilting once it's all pieced I'll need all the help I can get! Even if I could afford the nifty table it's probably not worth it, much as I'd like to think my machine will last forever I have to keep in mind it's as old as I am, and if Mum wants it back I really do have to give it to her seeing as it's still hers.
One day I'll get a quilters machine with a bigger harp, and hopefully some alphabet fonts too....

Tomorrow I have to go out for a bit, I need to get a stereo to PC cable so I can shift our tower down to the section it belongs in on the computer desk. I've also got to drop off a colouring competition entry form for George at the mall; he'd like to come, but I hate Riccarton Mall and if he's going it has to be either the weekend which is too busy or school holidays which is just as bad! Not to mention that for either of them it would be just me with both boys as Thomas is busy each weekend till after the comp closes and working in the week.

School holidays start next week, you might have worked that out from the last comment I made. There are some plans in place; the boys have 4 sessions with the Autism Society's holiday scheme going to places like Orana Park, swimming, ten-pin bowling, a llama park, horse riding and an adventure playground. We also have to go out and get them both shin guards in the first week as they start soccer next term with a special needs group. In the second week their grandmother is taking them for up to 3 days; it may be less, depends on how they behave, lol. Ian's being a bit defiant of late, so it may not be the full 3 days; we'll see.

Day 4 Blogtoberfest

2011-10-04T16:48:00.000+13:00

I did something against my principles today; normally I only buy natural fibre products, but today I got some polyester batting. It was price based in part and also based on the fact that this item will never go on a bed, it'll be on the wall.
Here's a photo of the fabric and batting to tease you (grin)

Any thoughts on what I'm making? I'll be taking photos as I go and if it works as I have planned there'll be a tutorial afterwards.

In other sewing news my trousers are almost done. Just buttons to go on the waistband and the hems to do; they'll be finished tomorrow. They fit perfectly, but no photo of them on till they're done.

Not the best photo, but you can see the contrast pocket flaps on the legs; loving those, the hip pockets have the same fabric as a hidden lining which is a touch that makes me smile.

Got to try out a new to us game on the Xbox today, Left 4 Dead 2; great fun with Thomas as a co-op game. We'll have to buy our own copy I think, along with Gears of War 3 when we can afford it. Oh, and the latest Harry Potter has a release date of November 16, so we'll be buying that too; I'll have the full series of HP movies then as well as all the books. I'm actually reading the books again at the moment, lol.

New shoes arrived for the boys today from NZsale.co.nz; love that site! They fit well, the only problem is that they are shoe lace ones and neither boy has mastered tying a bow yet. I'm thinking I might have to get some of those no-tie shoelaces for them so that they can manage them at school.

Day 3 Blogtoberfest

2011-10-03T18:56:00.000+13:00

Got an email from my boss this morning, it's stocktake day.   There went my plans of sewing today; instead I spent the first couple of hours working, followed by a quick note take of which work I had in my cupboard to finish. Then into work where I found a bustle of activity and a mild feeling of frenzy; not uncommon for stocktake. I'll be back in tomorrow to get more work, but I've finished for today which is good.
Dropped the trampoline mat in for restitching; it's going to cost $62 (hope that's GST inclusive) and should be done by the end of the week; Ian will be pleased as he's been going out there and sitting on the frame, while looking mournfully at the empty bounce area.   Poor chap.

Our oven is now fixed; $260 later; ouch!   But still rather cheaper than a new one and it's a good oven despite being a bit older.   Also got an email from Tronix to say the old Xbox now has a new laser, is clean and is now playing games fine; $76 please.   That's actually a good price and means in a few days it should be back and we can play games that require a hard drive again. Turns out the new one while advertised as having a 4gig hard drive does not in fact have a hard drive and won't download the expansion discs.

In other expensive news I've decided what phone I want as soon as I save the money

This is the LG Optimus One P500. It's $349, but I should be able to get it for less on contract; it'll cost me $40 a month which is more than I currently pay, but as my current phone will stop working later next year I have to do something; and I want a smartphone! GPS, decent camera which is always with you, calender, and a number of other bits and bobs will be very handy.

Hoping to get into the sewing room tomorrow after going to work, need to get some padded interfacing to make my wall-hung circular needle holder and it would be nice to finish my trousers and the t-shirt that's already cut out.

More gardening

2011-10-03T13:13:00.001+13:00

No photo's today, but I now have 3 blueberry plants courtesy of Mum and Dad which are installed in their new positions. Quite a few less weeds in the garden too, but a long way to go.
Got 3 lines of sewing done; the zip is almost in the trousers and I had planned on getting them finished, but there was a conspiracy against it happening I think.

Blogtoberfest - Oct 1

2011-10-01T19:56:00.001+13:00

Wow, what a busy day today! I've been gardening, a little spinning, some sewing and there may be a little knitting to come yet.

Out in the garden we've mowed the lawn and also removed and cleaned the trampoline mat as it needs restitching

Ian is a trifle unhappy about this; but as the stitching was starting to go on 2 rows, not just one it was no longer safe. I'll be taking it in on Monday or Tuesday to be fixed.

Next I dug up some hostas and moved them to a new part of the garden where they can keep the weeds down.

This is their new area, here's hoping they can win the fight with the ivy; not sure how to kill that stuff.
In the area where the hostas were is now some heucheras; the new area gets no direct sunshine and we wanted something that will look nice against the concrete footings of the house; these look brilliant!

There's another of the lighter coloured ones to the left that you can't see. It looks really good, and now that the hostas are out our rubbish bins can go right against the house which is much neater too.
After I'd done all that I investigated the vege patch and found this:

This is the first year our asparagus have produced something that actually looks like asparagus! We can't eat them this year, but next spring we should be able to eat a few spears; yummy!

After I'd finished all of that I was pooped! Did a little work and then decided to start spinning cotton again; my last foray into cotton was a disaster; but I figured it was time to try again.

Unfortunately the flash isn't brilliant; but although it's broken a few times it looks really good and I'm quite pleased. The fibre is a pencil type roving and it's much easier to work with than the cotton sliver was. I'm still planning on trying punis at some point though.

On the sewing front I've got to the point of inserting the zipper into my cords; unfortunately I don't have a zipper in the right colour or length so I'll have to pop out tomorrow and grab one from Spotlight (hate the place, but it's close and open on Sunday). I'm really pleased with these so far, hope they fit!

That's the side leg pocket. The same fabric is used on the main pocket facing as well; I like it as it makes them a bit different and they 'pop'! Hope that I can get them finished tomorrow (and that they fit), things are a bit bloated of late thanks to the IBS. Knowing my luck they'll fit now, I'll lose weight over summer and won't get to wear them next winter; mind you that wouldn't be all bad, lol.