Quick update

Have finished a few things in sewing, but haven't got time to post pics atm; will have to do that later. I've done a couple of Ottobre T's as well as 1 pair of plain sweatpants for the gym. I've finished knitting 2 beanies in Patons Zhivago and a number of cotton dishcloths for Christmas presents. I've also make a cardigan in Naturally Yarns Vero (Pink/purple) for Gabriella (Jan and Robert's daughter). I put pink daisy buttons on it and it was very cute. I'm using the remaining skein to knit a hat for a TNN swap; no piccies yet though!

I'm also working on a sweat-jacket which I'm planning to add some swarovski crystals!

As far as the GF is concerned we've been GF since September and have seen a bit of improvement in George's speech, but not much in the way of changes aside from that. It's possible they are a bit calmer; certainly noticed a difference when they had an infraction! DH is finally supporting it a bit which makes things easier. I'd like to try milk free as well, but DH is so anti that it's not even worth trying atm! Maybe later.

Gluten issues

Well, just found out that both my boys are gluten intolerant. We had blood tests done for IgG levels. Normal is between 1 and 20; George's was 49 and Ian's was 61! We're not going gluten free immediately as I want to check for milk protein issues first, so we're taking a couple of weeks with no dairy before going gluten free. I'm hoping that the milk won't be a problem because that will mean we can still have cheese.
So, no more takeaways, no more bought bread considering the bought versions cost $6 per loaf which is daylight robbery! I've got us a juice fountain a new toaster (the old one was dying anyway), and I had enough fly-buys points to get a waffle maker. Unfortunately I have no idea where I'm going to put everything and the stuff we're keeping is going to have to be scrupulously clean so we don't have cross contamination (another reason to wait for a couple of weeks).
I'll put all the wheat based stuff in the hall cupboard so it won't tempt the boys and I'll have to bake often which I don't do now.
I'm also going to be looking into seeing if I can get a referral through the public health system to see Rodney Ford (Dr Gluten), he's too expensive to see normally and if he confirms George is gluten intolerant we may be able to get WINZ support to help with the expenses involved. We already get if for Ian as he is on the Autistic Spectrum.
DH isn't 100% committed and probably won't be until we see results, and maybe not even then, it may well be considered to be a "coincidence". We have seen big results with Ian from the use of Efalex fish oil, but there is still a way to go; and George has some major language delays. Even at almost 5 he's still hard to understand so I think it's well and truly worth a try.

Peak Oil

Well this is my final post for today, the others were catch-up posts; this one is addressing an issue that rather worries me. I'm mostly worried about how it will affect my ability to access supplies to keep Ian from descending back into grumpy Autistic child. He's on Efalex fish oil and has improved greatly, the idea of not being able to source that anymore is rather scary. I'm hoping that peak oil will be further off than believed and that when it comes bio-fuel will still be able to be used for shipping so that we can still get that sort of thing.
I'm not too worried about power or food here as we are a mainly agricultural country and most of our power is hydro, with some coal. If we stop selling our coal off to China we should be ok on that front too, at least ok for long enough to adapt. I can see the possibility of rationing though, similar to what happened in WWII in England. Our access to free wood for the fire may be compromised though as we won't be able to drive out to the farm to get it, hopefully they might get a horse and cart and we can sort something out for that (the chainsaw might not be working though)
Funny, you don't realise just how much oil is necessary in our society until you sit down and think it through. Although I work in an industry that makes woollens a lot of that depends on transportation, the dryers are run on gas and I couldn't fit many jerseys on the back of the push bike.

Just been watching the news on another front. They're going to be asking all women and children who go into hospital if they've been victims of abuse. What about the abused men? I think it's a bit shortsighted concentrating on just women and children. Sure they are the main groups that are affected, but there are men who are in the same situation who find it even more difficult to talk about it as it's not considered "manly".

some sewing

My latest sewing, 2 tops for Ian using a 2 way stretch knit from Fabric Vision's remnants table. I think it cost about $4 for both. The one on the top has velvet iron-on's in an aboriginal style print. The flame was a free-hand fabric paint attempt. It's still holding up quite well a month or so later. Both boys want to wear it, they both fit the same size in tops now!




















The jersey I knitted in 14 ply thick'n'thin yarn for a friend's son. Apparently it fits really well, a bit long in the sleeves, but that's not a bad thing for growing boys. The yarn was Naturally Colormate 100% wool. Nice to work with and quite soft. I'm going to do one for one of my boys for next winter in Teal (I love knitworld sales!)














I made these trousers for our neighbours newborn. They're size 1, so will be for next winter but they are so cute. An Ottobre pattern, I used remnants from the last pair I made (which I forgot to photograph before posting off). The brown was the remnant and the red goes so well with it! My neighbours were surprised, but pleased to get them; and I got to meet their 6 week old son who was very cute and having a good look around.

Catching up

Well, it's been a while since I updated this. In the meantime I've finished George's quilt
He's very proud of it, and so am I!















I've knitted both boys a jersey in merino possum wool, very nice to work with though lacking body a bit so will stretch.
















I've also knitted my first ever pair of socks, unfortunately both boys are growing at a rate of knots and they won't fit Ian past this winter. They turned out really well though!
I'll have to knit more for next winter as it's really hard to get woollen socks for children over here. Strange considering we're in a country full of sheep, but there you go.










I've also done some sewing, but I'll post that separately.

Weekend work

It's been a long weekend, been very busy! Yesterday I washed the outside of all the windows as well as the inside of the bedroom windows. Ick! George helped me with the outside, though I think they might have been cleaner without his help, lol! I also did quite a lot of work on the garden; pruning roses and dug one out as well as rediscovering the vege garden. It'll be interesting to see how that goes in the Spring after George planted several bean seeds.

Today was mothers day so I got to spend the day in the sewing room. Finished Ian's jersey and cut out 2 t-shirts for him. I also got DH's ironing done and some reading. I'm about to sort out some Burda mags that sold on TradeMe yesterday and then I'm going to play some computer games to round the day off nicely.

Winter singlets and update on quilt

Just finished making 3 singlets for Ian from Ottobre 2/2005 #19. 2 are from offcuts of merino knit from work, the third (cream) is from an old singlet of mine which had gone under one arm. The rest of it was in good nick so I decided to turn it to good use. I used my Janome Coverpro for this and it did a really good job.

I'm also working on my first quilt, ran out of thread today so will have go shopping for more. I'm currently doing the actual quilting, once that's done then I'll just have to bind it. I'm making it for George (my eldest). It's a dinosaur quilt and uses a mix of piecing and applique. Looking really good and I'll post a piccie here when it's finished.

Egg donation

Well, tomorrow I get to go into the Fertility place, take a whole load of drugs and hand over a bunch of eggs. I won't find out who's getting them, though I will get to find out if they actually have a baby.
I'm glad it'll be all over for my end though, feeling a bit bloated atm and it'll be nice to get our fridge back too. I'm going to take in one of my nappies to give to the recipient (The Fertility Centre will be doing the giving) and then that's it for me. I'm too old to do it again now, but I've given 2 couples the chance to have children of their own. I really hope it works for them, hopefully the nappy will be a good luck charm.

More SS replacement

Here's the nightgown I made to go with the little jacket. This is also an Ottobre pattern. Very cute, however no girls to take a photo of it on. This was my first attempt at shirring and I think it worked out quite well. The fabric was some my MIL gave me which I've been wanting to use, but didn't have a project for; until now!

A replacement SS and others

One of the ladies on TNN unfortunately didn't get her SS present, so I volunteered to replace it for her. I've made a couple of items from Ottobre mags for her children, her hubby and herself got much more prosaic pressies (toffee and nuts).
For her young son a jacket in Malden Mills 200wt fleece with a lined hood (organic cotton jersey). Unfortunately I can't do a photo on as both my boys are too big now to fit this.

Secret Santa and gifts

Well, this is a full post. I have several items I made for my secret santa on TheNappyNetwork.org.nz. The first is a sleeping bag from the latest Ottobre magazine (05/06). The outer is polar fleece from my stash and it's lined with organic cotton jersey with a wee bit of organza ribbon for decoration.
I also made a nappy for the same lady using my own pattern and stencilled an Iris on it, I'm really happy with this.

I also had a second person to make for, and I combined 2 womens T's to make this t-shirt. I then appliqued a vehicle on the front. I used the Ottobre T-shirt pattern for this and used a basic shorts pattern to make a full outfit. That had the same vehicle appliqued, but I don't seem to have made a photo of that for some reason. Unless it's still on the camera; if so it will show up here later.

The last T was made from another of the existing women's T's and I made this for the son of the lady who gave me them. I made it to the Ottobre pattern again and free-handed a tractor onto it with fabric paint (Pebeo Setacolour). The wee lad loves it! Always nice to be appreciated.

2nd sleeping bag for nephew

This is a robots print, inner is organic cotton jersey which is absolutely scrummy! There is a hidden layer of wool batting so it'll also be snuggly in winter. That's a good thing, they live in Waimate which gets really cold in winter!

Nappies for Africa

Well, one of them was. I made 12 of these newborn nappies, 7 for kits to show off at local
Ante-natal classes and 1 went to raise funds for the Fistula Trust which is in Africa (I forget which country).
I sold another on Trade-Me, gave one to a friend and still have 2 left.
They are 100% cotton velour towelling on the outside, lilac sherpa inner with a hidden soaker.
Wonderfully soft!

Sweatsuit for nephew

Well, I can safely say it's too long since I posted to my blog. I made this sweatsuit for my nephew using up some of my stash several months ago. Had to think for a bit, but it was a Burda pattern and it turned out really well.
I used some velvet iron-on's to make them a bit cooler

Nephew's sleeping bag

Made this for a birthday present for his 1st birthday. It's summer weight from the Burda sleeping bag pattern. I'm also making a winter one with robots on it.
Then are some Secret Santa presents for people on TheNappyNetwork.org.nz and Christmas presents. Then maybe something for fun?

Ottobre 1/2005 #16

I made this after feeling the urge to make something for a girl. I chose a friend who has a daughter who's around 7 (I think). She's a size 104 chest, but adult sizing in the tummy area so it was a bit of a challenge. She hasn't tried it on yet so I'm still praying it fits correctly.
She put in an order for "sparkly butterflies". I couldn't manage much sparkle, though the applique butterfly has some gold on it.
All the fabric used was already in my stash, I used a poly-cotton for the main fabric and the applique and strip are from my quilting fabric stash.

I also recently made a Burda pattern up for another friends daughter, a sleeping bag which used some of the same fabric! It has a lining of organic cotton jersey and a hidden layer of bonded merino wool to keep her snuggly. She loves it, she's 1 year old and apparently when she's tired she goes to it and lies down in it. So sweet!

The garden shed is finished and so is my top!

We've finally got the garden shed up after several months of having the concrete pad done. We still have to attatch the latch, but that is not exactly a big step in comparison!
I also got Ottobre Women design #3 finished in a bright mauve wool knit. Very comfy, the only thing I don't like about it is that the facing shows through, so I may have to trim it and then whipstitch to stop running (I don't think I can fit it in the overlocker now it's all sewn up). I really like the fit of this top and I love the way the coverstitch works with variagated woolly nylon in the looper.
Next will be the sleeping bag for a birthday present for a 1 year old. Will show a photo of that as soon as it's done.

More Sewing!

Well, more sewing this weekend. I finished a skirt for my MIL who's a size 24; no photo's as it's a birthday present. I also drafted it from scratch and am reasonably happy with it.
I also made Ottobre 3/2005 #15 out of dark grey drill fabric. Turned out really well, but I don't really like the way they do the waistband so I think I'll do it differently next time.

Ottobre 4-2004 #10 plus 2 nappies

Well, this weekend we had a birthday party to go to, I rang the little girl's Mum and asked if she had any clothing she'd like me to make. A skirt for winter was suggested, so I found #10 in Ottobre 4-2004 and made it up. It was a little short so I added a frill, did some fabric painting using Pebeo Setacolour which worked really well on the stretch woven jacquard I found in my stash.
















I also made 2 fitted nappies from BKT with suedecloth lining for my son's nap times. Lovely and soft and very thirsty!

Well, I've just finished a cardigan from Ottobre 4/2003 #21. It's too big for George as you can tell from the photo at the top left, but will look good later. It was sewn from an old cardigan of mine which had felted slightly after several years of being washed in the washing machine. It was too small for me, but the fabric still had plenty of wear in it. George loved it! Should be nice and warm in the winter too as it's 100% wool.
Next I've got to reupholster the arms on our LazyBoy, make DH work trousers, sew up the Ottobre trousers I've cut out for George, make capes for both boys.......