A few little things

Hello, I am just stopping by to let you all know that I havent forgotten about our blog, and I certainly havent stopped crocheting. I think Im currently in the process of becoming the queen of WIP's (Work In Progress) as my collection of half finished projects seems to be growing by the day.

Some stuff I cannot show on here right now, as they're are presents, but here are a few things that I can share.

The first being a little beanie-of-sorts which I originally planned to make for Elodie, but its just a touch on the small side, although she still does look adorable in it, don't you agree? But then, as her mother I may be a little biased, I would still consider her adorable even if she was dressed in a paper bag! :)

I will be gifting this one on to a newborn some day. Here's a link to the pattern..

more detail on my work is here.

Then there is the novelty idea of making a beanie that looks like a fish eating your head... I know it sounds really odd, but I personally think its AWESOME!  ha ha! My progress so far is not really much to see, it wont start looking like a fish till I add lips, fins and scales but linked here and here are other people's finished projects, you gotta admit, that's pretty cool!!

Then Im also in the process of depleting my scrappy yarn stash by means of a granny blanket. Its not the prettiest combination of colours, but Im sure it will be the kind of blanket that will get a good load of use come next winter. Every time I look at it, it makes me imagine what a rainbow would look like after being put through the blender.. lol!

Please excuse the grainy pic, it was taken with my web cam.. it doesnt really show the true colours, there's actually a lot of bright pinks, purples and blues through it. I will update to a clearer photo once Im finished the project.

So that's all for now!

Emma

Another Rag Quilt

This is one of the projects iv been working on inbetween working on my other quilt (see previous post of mine) its another Rag Quilt (similar to the one iv made previously) with just a few differant flannel fabrics in it. This was a gift for my good friend's (and aunty's!) little boy. I decided he deserved somthing special seeing as he is a boy born after 3 little girls! We went to perth on the weekend to meet him for the first time and he is adorable! Hopefully he will get some use out of this as he gets a bit older (they are great for play matts!)

Drying out on the line after it was washed...

Sharelle

Craft Night 5/11/2010

We held our annual craft night last week friday at Henrietta's house! Some quick snaps from the night...

Emma & Hen...busy busy

Bec ironing

Bec & Emma hard at work

P.S Before you ask where the pic of me you took is Hen it was a bit blurry so i didnt add it :D
x Sharelle

Crocheted Blanket

My mom crocheted me a blanket and I always wanted to make one ever since. For my birthday I got a crocheting booklet and I just learned from there, Also with some help from my fellow friends. I made this blanket for my daughter Angelina, we painted her room a lite purple and so I thought this would go with it quite well. I needed a break from cross stitching and so I thought will just make a blanket and so at least I have something to do at nites. and now its done and I am actally proud of my handy work. But now that I am done I think I will start another one I will miss doing it at nites, just not sure how much wool is left in the stores but will have to go and check it out.

My daughter Angelina wanted a pic with her new blanket. So cute she says to me this morning when I gave it to her mom can I put it in my room on my bed.. they just love new things.

Henrietta

Tweet

Craft evening was very nice last Friday, thanks Hen for having us! Thought I would post up the little project that I whipped up aswell. Our evening had a theme, to do something babyish, so I decided to make a little baby rattle, similar to this one I found online.

And this is my version, introducing to you Tinkin' Tweet;

So after spotting this pattern on ravelry it all fell together quite neatly. Thanks Sharelle for the bell too. I completed it all in the one evening, between chatting and cups of tea!

Elodie quite enjoys her new little toy!



Emma

Baby Pants

We had our monthly craft night last night which Hen will be sharing photos of soon - a baby theme this time. Seeing as I was taking photos of some projects for my Sewing Belle blog this morning I thought I would share my project from last night straight away - some little denim baby pants.

The pattern is a free (yay!) one from Made by Rae and they were really easy to make. I used denim for the pants and a bright cotton fabric that I bought on sale a while ago for the pockets and hem binding. Since comparing with some other baby clothes they are probably closer in size to a 000, next I hope to applique a plain onesie to match!

Bec

A sneak peek...

I was just checking our blog tonight to see what the other girls have been busy with when i realised how long its been since iv posted something myself! Its not for lack of not being busy with anything either! I'm working on a rather large (and by large i mean single bed size...which is large enough for me for now!) quilt! I was going to wait until the quilt was finished to show off the final product but really, who knows when that will be! So iv taken two quick pics, just a little sneak peek to keep you all guessing as to what the final product will look like!

OK so here's where i also admit that this is a Quilt Class that i have been doing at our local patchwork shop. Two full days of sewing....bliss (thanks mum for babysitting!) Although we had two full days there is still LOTS to be done on the quilt, the class taught us the basics of the pattern and now its up to us to finish it...eeekkk! My plan is to have it finished for my daughters first birthday, Jan 15th, only time will tell whether i get there or not :)

Till next time,
Sharelle

Annika the Amigurumi Doll

Hooray, I can finally post again. I'd made myself the promise that I wouldnt post till I'd finished this project. And here she is:

Halle has chosen the name Annika, and she is already showing signs of being loved with Matilda's little red monkey finger marks on her dress!!

Annika stands about 35cm high, and the dress and shoes are removeable. A mental note to myself though, would be to make the dress and shoes with a larger hook if I was to ever make some more, as with a 3.5mm hook they are quite snug.

Here is a close up of the eye detail, while she was still dismembered.. :)

So lots of hours went into this doll, but its such a nice feeling to have it all completed. I may take a break from making any more dolls for a while, my project list is just far too long for me wanting to make another of these for a while.

And just incase you were looking for the link of the pattern I worked from, here it is again: http://stitch.hellooperator.net/free-patterns/amigurumi-doll/

Emma

Refashion!

Yesterday I tried my hand at 'refashioning' some old shorts I had into a pair of maternity shorts, using a few tips from the tutorial found here. Instead of using an old t-shirt for the band I used some old ribbing I had lying around and made a tube which I sewed onto the shorts after unpicking the waistband.

It was a suprisingly easy job and sure beats paying $40 plus for a pair of shorts that will only get a few months use!

The same could be done with a denim skirt or even jeans - the only thing to remember is that they have to be a 'relaxed' fit as you will have to wiggle them over your hips because they don't have a functional zip front anymore :-)

Bec

Craft Night # 2

We held our second craft night this past Friday night - my turn to host this time :-) We all managed to get a little bit done between yacking, eating and drinking (tea of course!) so that's always a good thing.

Sharelle sewed up a cute appliqued soft block for her little one, Henrietta was working on a gorgeous bag for her sister, Emma was making some great progress on her crochet dolls and I sewed together a flanelette baby doll for Izzy.

I thought I would share a recipe too of what we indulged on - a delicious lemon slice the recipe of which is courtesy of my sister-in-law Brenda. The photo is not my own because I forgot to take one but it looks fairly similar.

LEMON SQUARES

Base:

1 cup Butter

2 cups Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

Combine and press into a slice pan, bake at 180 degrees (160 fan forced) for 15 minutes

Meanwhile for the top, combine with a fork:

2 cups of Sugar (I didn't say it was healthy!!!)

1/4 cup of Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

1/4 cup of Lemon Juice

Spread over baked base and bake at 180 degrees (160 fan forced) for 25 minutes or until lightly toasted on top.

Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares when cooled (if you can wait that long!!)

Bec

I have not been on here for awhile and so I thought I better put some of the projects that I have been working on. I think I said I was making bags for my family back in canada, so that has been what I have been busy with. almost done now. a few more to go and then start something other then making bags, I do still have to make myself one thou. That always seems to happen last. I have also been crocheting but will show you when I am done which should be soon. next on my list I have some gorgeous material and want to make a little dress for my little girl tess. I have not sown clothes since high school, so that has been a long time ago. hope to find some easy pattern and see how it goes. Looking forward to trying something new. these bags will be one there way to canada soon for my 2 sisters and the middle one for a friend of my sisters. She seen her bag and would love one and so who can say no:) I do know her and she is a lovely person. just hope this is what she had in mind. Have to finish the bags this week. My sister from canada with her little boy are coming this weekend nad so not much sewing will be done then.. so until next time..

Projects galore!

How many projects can you have going at one time?! I ask this because I really think I have to stop starting new ideas, and get to completing ones that Ive already started! Those slippers still havent made it round to the little bub as yet, so I thought maybe I'd add a little newsboy cap to match..

So Im about 2/3 of the way through that!

Then Ive started to think about what colours and decorations I'd like to do in the girls bedrooms in the new house. Starting with Elodie's room, I feel sorry for the poor thing, as she's currently sleeping in the corner of the store/spare room in a porta cott! My plan is to have a soft aqua-blue wall, and then use apricots and pinks in the decor to make it girly. So here's the beginnings of a rag quilt..

That's not all, I also have a 90x90cm canvas waiting for its 2nd coat of paint. I still have to decide what exactly to put on it, but Im gleaning ideas from here and here 

And another project in the works is this nappy cover that I thought I'd try out. Still got the leg bands to do and add a few ruffles across the back.. :)

And what about those Amigurumi dolls??

Im looking forward to our next craft night coming up this week Friday, Ive just got to decide between now and then what to take with me to work on!

Emma

Cot Quilt for baby

I whipped up this cot quilt top last week for our impending arrival using the space fabric I had purchased earlier and mixed it up with some nice bright prints and some lemon flanelette in the centre and on the backing for the extra snuggle factor!

The idea came from the tutorial here although I made it a fair bit bigger. I intend to applique the baby's name like they did and even though we have already decided on one I will wait until he is here and add it on last.

Next up is to do some quilting! Just straight lines this time - nice and easy :-)

We have another Handmade Rainbow craft night planned for this Friday so stay tuned for some more happenings on the blog!

Bec

Baby Daisy Slippers

So inbetween crocheting dolls legs, I whipped up this little project for a friend who has just had a new baby girl. The plan was that I would bring it round to her this afternoon with a meal, but a bout of gastro changed those plans.. Im feeling better now and the booties are finished, I will have to organise a visit for next week to deliver!

So the inspiration comes once again from Holland Designs by Lisa van Klaveren. She designed a cute pair of kimono slippers with the flower and stem idea.
The actual bootie pattern is once again adapted from a pattern I found online here
I was getting way too fussy with flower patterns, I could not find one that was just quite right enough, so I made up my own little design. And the leaves were a last minute added extra, pattern found on this gorgeous blog.
(PS. That blog is well worth the look at! I really love the idea of dressing the naked branch)

And here's the final result:

They fit my (almost) 6 month old daughter, with a little toe room to spare. But I know she has got extra tiny feet. So for a gauge I would say they fit approx 3- 6 months. Hopefully this new little baby girl gets some wear out of them before Summer is over.

Thats all for now, back to crocheting dolls legs.....

Emma

Applique

Seeing as these are finally on the way to their new owners this week i thought i would post a pic! These are two shirts i purchased from Target with the intent to applique 'somthing' on them as birthday presents for my friends little girls. Here is how they turned out, the first is for a little girl who loves ballet (and also takes lessons) and the second is a flower (because its girly and i couldnt quite think what this little girl 'was into'!)  Hopefully they like them :) On the weekend i also did two long sleeve shirts for my little boy, i should have taken photos straight away as now one is in the wash and the other he is wearing!

If you are wanting to do somthing similar to this with your own childrens plain shirts a fantastic tutorial to follow is this one here, from our very own blogger Bec!

 x Sharelle

Hello everyone, I have not been on this blog for quite awhile. We have just moved house well 2 weeks ago to be exact and well slowly getting there. Not to sday I have not done any crafts during this time, I did finish off a bag for my sister in law.. will take a pic of it and put it on here soon.. and also started another bag as well, soon I will be all bagged out. I have to finish off the bags for the family first and then I thinka break from bags will be in order. I am also at the present time learning how to crochet. So far have been practising and now actually started, I want to make a blanker for each of my girls. For their new rooms. and then see what comes up after that. I have so many things that I want to do and just not enough time. I also would love to make a few of those flannel blankets for my sister and sister in law that are expecting. I think a tutorial on the blanket is in order Sharelle:) I am sure you have inspired many.. Many things that I want to get down and hope to slowly get my list done. So that is what I have been upto lately, hope to have some pics up soon...


Henrietta

Personalised Baby Blanket

Sharelle inspired me to get moving on some things for our baby on the way - seeing she has already made something for me - see the post below!

For this quick project I personalised a ready-made coral fleece baby blanket that I bought on sale for $7! I added blanket stitch around the edge and finished it off with some hand applique of a rocket and some stars. Another great idea would be to do one with the baby's name, but as we haven't decided on that yet it might have to wait :)

Check out Sewing Belle for more details!

Bec

Rag Quilt

Hello! So apart from all the sickness that has ravaged our household in the last week or so this is what i have been upto...my very first Rag Quilt! It is made out of Quilters Flannel and is to be a gift for a special baby boy who is due the end of Dec 2010! Yes im a bit ahead of myself but once i had all the fabric i was itching to see what it looked like all sewn up! So here it is, hopefully when this little one arrives he is as pleased with it as what i am (oh and his mum too!) :D

Hanging on the line after being washed (the first wash is essential as it gives the flannel its frayed look)

All dry and folded up!

x Sharelle

Craft Night!

Last night (4th Sept 10) we held our first of what we hope to do once a month, Craft Night! Here are a couple of photos of what we got upto!

Group Shot = Sharelle, Hen, Bec & Emma

Sharelle Sewing, Hen learning to Crochet off Bec, Emma Crocheting

Our snacks for the night :)

Amigurumi Dolls

Hello! Its time I share with you all what Im busy with at the moment. Getting a little tired of making hats, but still have a few to finish over the next couple of weeks. But my newest project is still in its very early stages, and it will probably be a good couple of months before Im done. Amigurumi Dolls!! 'Amigurumi' is a fancy Japanese word to describe the art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed creatures, usually animals. But in my case, not so small, (35cm tall) dolls.

And yes Im talking plural. One doll requires 6x 50g balls of wool in different colours, and me thinking I was smart, decided to buy 6x 200g balls of wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills and then mix and match the colours and make 4 dolls!!!! I do have 3 daughters after all, so three of the dolls will find a home right here, Im thinking the 4th will go to my little niece..
It will be interesting to see if  I can get them all done before the year's out!
So here is the pattern that Im working from. So far Im working exactly to it, no deviations. But looking forward I may make the head a little more rounder than what the pattern suggests...
It is all worked in one type of stitch (sc) on a small hook to keep everything tight.
Its my first try at working from a pattern chart, I think Im getting the hang of it!

And this is how far Ive come, 3 and a half legs!

Considering my crazy weeks with birthdays and colds all round, I think Im doing pretty well!
Im really happy with the colours Ive picked, girly-ish, without using pink! :)

So Im off to go work on the rest of that leg!

Emma

We're still here!

Just a quick note to say hi - and we are still here - and crafting in some way or another! Life has been busy for all of us the last few weeks - winter ills, moving house, birthdays and weekends away among other things :) And some projects just take a little while before we can share!

In the meantime I have finished my I Spy quilt - quilted myself and all. For a few more photos see my blog :)

Bec

I Spy Quilt with a border!

I thought I would quickly add a photo of my I Spy Quilt top now that it has a border - it's amazing how it 'finishes' the quilt off. I used navy for a thin border around the squares and then a blue star print for a thicker second border. Once it is quilted I will use the same navy for the binding.

Why blue? To come to that decision I actually used Microsoft Paint - I imported the photo of the finished sqaures, deleted the background so it was surrounded by white space and then used the thick line tool to draw around the squares (to represent the first border). Then I drew around it again with a thinner line to represent the thicker border and used the bucket (not sure what that one is called) to fill the second border with colour. That way I could try all different colours with a click of a button to see what worked best!

I thought I saved the paint picture so I could share it but I can't find it!

Bec

Pattern for Newsboy Cap

Hello again, I just had a phonecall this morning from someone who was hoping to try out my own pattern for the Newsboy Cap. So here it is! My first attempt at writing a pattern! If there are any queries or obvious discrepencies please let me know! :) 
Please also let me know if you've used the pattern and how it turned out!


Notes:
This pattern is written in UK/AUS terms

Stitches used are ch- chain, dc- double crochet, tr- treble, dec tr- decrease treble, sl st- slip stitch
Ive used 8ply wool/cotton with a 5.00mm hook.
Tutorial for dec tr (decrease treble) stitch added at the end of this post.
This hat should fit approx 1-3years old.
To make larger, add a couple more increase rows, after row 11.
Instructions between * * need to be repeated as many times as indicated.
The 3ch at the beginning of each row is counted as 1 tr.



Start: ch 3, sl st in 1st ch to make loop

Row 1: ch 3, 15 tr in loop, sl st into the 3rd ch from beginning (16st)

Row 2: ch 3, 1 tr in same st, *1 tr in next st, 2tr in same st* x 7, 1 tr in next st, sl st into 3rd ch from beginning. (24st)

Row 3: ch 3, 1 tr in same st, *1 tr in each next 2 st, 2tr in same st*x 7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from beginning. (32st)

Row 4: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 3 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (40st)

Row 5: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 4 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (48st)

Row 6: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 5 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (56st)

Row 7: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 6 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (64st)

Row 8: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 7 st, 2 tr in next st* x8, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (72st)

Row 9: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 8 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (80st)

Row 10: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 9 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning. (88st)

Row 11: ch 3, 1tr in same st, *1 tr each in next 10 st, 2 tr in next st* x7, 1tr in each st to end and then sl st into 3rd ch from the beginning.(96st)

Row 12, 13, 14, 15 : ch 3, 1 tr in each st all the way round, sl st into 3rd ch from beginning. (96st)

Row 16: ch 3, *dec tr (2 st together), 1tr in next st* all the way round, may require 1 tr in last stitch, sl st into 3rd ch from beginning.

Row 17, 18, 19: ch 1, dc in each st all the way around (remembering on row 16, to keep the dec st from last row together, and not to put a stitch between them.) sl st into 3rd ch from beginning. Do not fasten off.

*************************************************

Brim:
Row 1: turn, dc, dc, *2tr in same st, tr* x8, 2tr in same st, dc, dc, dc

Row 2: turn, dc in 2nd dc from last row, dc, 2 tr in same stitch (should be above the 2tr from last row) then tr, tr, 2tr in same stitch (should be above the 2tr from last row again) and then tr in each stitch till you get to the point of repeating that sequence (in reverse) to match the other side. Finish with and extra dc into the base of the hat again..

Row 3:  turn, dc, dc, tr, tr, 2tr in next st, then tr to the point where you repeat the stitches in reverse to match other side. Fasten off and sew in ends.

***************************************
Here is a picture of the top view of  the cap Im currently working on. Gives you an idea on how the increase rows look:

Tutorial for dec tr stitch (decrease treble)
Work a tr in the next stitch without completing the very last step (leave the last two loops on the hook), then tr in the next stitch without completing the last step. You should have three loops on the hook then yarn over and draw through all the loops. Decrease made.

Have fun!
xx Emma

17/3/11 edited to add.
If you have queries about the pattern, and you found it via Ravelry, feel free to PM me, my username being Leftlady, and I will be happy to help!

Tag Blocks

Hello again, today I had some free time while my 8 month old had a sleep and so I thought I would try one of the new patterns that I just bought. Of course my 2 1/2 year old was more then eager to help me:) This is a test one to see how it works, and it turned out quite cute I thought. I just have to buy some ribbon to put along the outside edges. Can't wait to go out shopping for some supplies..  I bought the pattern from http://bubbamiafabrics.com.au/. They have many wonderful patterns and have already bought a few. Can't wait to try out the others as well. Going out shopping thursday nite to get some material to try out a new bag patterns, and so get some more for my tag blocks.

Bag

Here is a pic of some of the beading, a bit hard to get them on camera, or I should say my camera.

Here is another bag that I finished this weekend. I bought a skirt at an op shop and thought I would make something with this, and so I made it into a bag. It turned out quite nicely, and I sewed some beading just for a little extra something, So you can see you can make a bag out of anything. It turns out just as nice. Henrietta

Crochet Hook Roll

This morning (after a spot of housework dont worry!) i made this Crochet Hook Roll for the Crazy Crocheter (aka Emma!) among us. After seeing my pencil roll in the previous post Emma mentioned that a similar roll to put crochet hooks in would be very handy so instead of upsizing the pencil roll i googled crochet hook roll tutorial and came up with this one. Below is a photo of the finshed product which i think the new owner is pretty happy with, unfortunatly i cant show you a pic of it filled or rolled up because i dont own any crochet hooks!! 

♥ Sharelle

So its Emma here now, just hijacking Sharelle's post to add a couple of pics of it being used! :)

Its so pretty, thanks heaps Sharelle!!