Unfinished Business.

Sometimes we all just need a shove along to finish our projects.

I certainly do.

My knitting and sewing pile sometimes gets bigger than a basket of washing on Fridays and yet I continue to spy new and exciting patterns that I desperately want to start.

So Im going to share what Im up to in the hope someone will encourage me to finish.

And to STOP. CASTING. ON. NEW. THINGS.

Here is yet another milo.

Knit in extremely cheap and splitty yarn from Big W but thats okay because the colours are cute and rustic and this will be for around the house to keep little chests and tummies warm.

The great thing about these milo vests is that they get worn EVERY DAY.

Im not kidding.

So using a cheap yarn in this instance makes me happy because it will wash and wash and wash without me stressing over every little pilled fibre.

Win, win, win.

Im also pluggin away at the grand blankie of 2012.

And i call it this because its taking me sooo long to get through.

But it is looking gorgeous and I have to wrestle it off miss 3 in order to get some rows done.

It's long enough now to cover my feet but a bit too big to be portable for some travel crochet.

The pattern is from Lucy in the Attic and the yarn was purchased during Spotlight's Christmas Sale at about $2 a pop.

There are 21 colours so roughly a $40 blanket and only about 12 months of my time.

YIKES!

But it will be worth it to see Miss 3's face when it is finished and permanently on her bed.

Would love to know what projects you have on the go?

Linking up to the crafty pursuits of And Sew We Craft.

Not Pink.

Sometimes when I get deep in thought, I think about how I was destined to have two little daughters to call my own. My poor husband is surrounded by a household of pink things and barbie bits and pretty dresses and I know he loves it, but me?

Im in my absolute element.

My favourite colours have always been warm hues and pinks, right from a young age.

Im drawn to it like a bee to honey.

And Im probably one of those mums who dress my girls in a little too much of the colour... but I cant help it.

It's pretty.

Other times when Im deep in thought, I think about what it would be like to have a boy. And I love that thought, knowing that our little family is far from complete.

So I set myself a challenge and knit something non-girly that the girls could wear.

And voila!

Another milo to take joy in.

That tikki is an incredible knitwear designer and Ill say it again.

The milo is my favourite, bestest pattern to love.

So versatile and unisex.

And my biggest girl has worn this every.single.day.

Not kidding.

Until she spilt sauce on it.

Hello hoot, I see you!

And there you have it.

Something not pink.

Hello Winter.

Oh gosh my favourite season is here!

Yes, it's winter.

I genuinely don't know anyone else who hearts winter as their fav season quite like me.

But surely I am not the only one.

I love the snow, I love wearing boots, scarves and hoodies, I love uggs, I love climbing into a freshly made bed with flannelette sheets, I love warm and toasty kids in their winter pyjamas, I love knitting in cold weather, I love having dinner at 5pm when it gets very dark, I love that my hair is no longer frizzy, there is no sweat, I love hot chocolates and cups of hot tea, I love babies in fluffy onesies, I love having an excuse to say inside and at home, And therefore developing a relationship with certain tv programmes.

What's not to love?

And to celebrate I stayed up late last night, listening to the rain and crocheting like mad enjoying the peace and quiet from underneath my toasty blanket and my hot cuppa.

I love a project that burns through the stash and is fast and relatively simple.

Something that gives that finished project high quickly is a winner in my books and

already Im planning a few more of these ready to take on our family snow trip in a few weeks.

And speaking of family snow trips, I just might have braved the Aldi snow sale yesterday with all of about 400 other people.

It was madness, but oh so good and cheap.

Happy Winter!

A Spring Garden Dress.

This is what happens when indecision creeps its way into my crafty world.

A dress is born that is both knitted and sewn.

Ok it wasnt really indecision, just a big knitting mistake that accidentally turned into something gorgeous. Don't you just love when that happens?

So here is my hot tip for any would-be knitters out there.

CHECK that each ball is of the same dyelot.

That's it.

But I did.not.know.this.

That means those fiddly numbers on the label must all match up.

^^^ See? Matching. ^^^

But of course Im sure you already knew this insider info and Im just showing off my noviceness.

But we all have to learn somehow.

Having taught myself to knit from youtube and books, I somehow managed to miss this step and ended up with an expensive colour line right through the middle of what was supposed to be a Spring Garden Tee.

When balls of yarn have different dyelots, they appear to be the same colour but could very well be slightly different in shade or tone. Which means, like me, you will end up with a notciable line right through your handiwork. D'oh!

So I was on a mission to find the perfect fabric to compliment my expensive cotton yarn and turn my little tee into a dress. And voila!

All I did was measure my little model's waist and times that by one and a half to get my waist measurement and then measured her for length.

No pattern required for the skirt and I love those kind of projects.

The accidentally awesome ones.

Sharing the crafty love by linking up with And Sew We Craft.

The Ava Tie Dress.

I love a solid pattern that gets used over and over, time and time again.  

Where the actual pattern becomes so tattered from love and the cost of said pattern compounds per use.
Husband loves that too.

 Let me share with you the Ava Tie Dress by Izzy and Ivy Designs.

First spotted, all lovingly sewn up, over at Narioka many moons ago.

It has a simple construction.

So simple in fact, that when it arrived and I tore open the packaging, I couldnt find the pattern pieces.

Hmmph, ripped off.

Novice Nelly soon realised that to construct this garment, it required the measuring out of a rectangle of fabric which then became the 'tube' of the dress.
Too easy.

It is then shirred at the top end and how good is shirring!

After many attempts I finally got the hang of it and want to shir everything.
Once I wound the elastic thread onto my bobbin for the 10th time, we were good to go.
Tension is everything my friends.
And I do so love a pattern that teaches a new skill and adds to my repertoire as a learning sewist.

Shirring is great because it creates a stretchy, fitted garment without the fuss of carbon paper.

Most excellent.

I prefer the look of this dress with the tie at the back but that's just me.

And here we are in denim this time with little cherries, picked up from Spotlight at 40% off.

Another lovely feature of this pattern is that the designers have included a little sew in label that you can choose to add to your finished garment.

I just love labels on handmade sewing. It takes the finished product to the next level I think and I would really like to get my hands on some personalised ones.

Check out the dodgy lines there on that tie.

I would just like to add that this bottom here dress was one of the first projects I had ever made for my darling little baby daughter back when she was a wee thing.

I didnt know much about sewing. I was borrowing a machine.

And I just wanted to create something with my own hands to express that maternal love.

That was 3 years ago, and I just. cant. stop. crafting. now.

Every day Im creating something, if only for 5 minutes between nappy changes and swimming lessons.

What a journey motherhood has turned out to be.

Im linking up with And Sew We Craft to share the love of all things crafty. Stop by and say hi! It's always good to connect with like minded peeps and enjoy oohing and ahhing over crafty goodness.

My very favourite 'me' thing to do.





The trip that was.

Dear Melbourne,

I adore you.

With all your eclectic and vibrant, people and places.

We walked and walked through laneways and gardens taking it all in. Stopping only to breathe in everything that makes you, unique.

Sitting here pondering, it dawned on me what was different.

It was quiet. As quiet as a city can be.

There were no horns.

No angry pedestrians talking on mobile phones.

Just hushed trendy people moving about the place on trams and by foot.

Oh the trams!

Melbourne, you are peaceful.

Until i found this...

And then I squealed. Really squealed.

Having heard of the guerilla grannies movement that occured earlier in the year, when public spaces suddenly appeared to have been yarn bombed by cheeky crafters, it never occured to me that there might be some left.

Husbands just dont understand but this spot right here, on Lygon St.

This was the moment I fell in love.

With a city.

After devouring the nicest antipasti I have ever had, we moved on to the Museum.

Where matters of the heart will always find me.

A special display on the history of dressmaking in Melbourne.

More squeals.

More embarrassed looks by the hubs.

We caught a tram to St Kilda where the markets had been washed out.
Sad face.

But not to worry, we were both in a market kind of mood and caught the tram back again to the Queen Victoria Markets where a $2.50 Borek gave us both the yummiest lunch and something we will rave about for many years.
Seriously, nothing is $2.50 anymore.

If ever I live in Melbourne. And we will. One day.

Then only the Queen Victoria Markets will do for our food shopping.

The atmosphere was electric and fast paced and Im not even a good cook.

But there I was admiring the frenched lamb racks like I cook them every Thursday night. 

Mmm nom nom.

Along the way we jumped off the tram at Albert Park for a peekaboo at The Block. Becoming parents has turned us into tv tragics of a night time. And excitement levels were huge when we spotted this address. This time it was the man who squealed. Sort of.

Go team Brad and Lara!

I also popped into the Wool Baa and oohed and ahhed over their yarns.

WHY dont we have shops like these where I live?

WHY!

Onwards and upwards I was ushered.

To the Eureka Skydeck where we pondered life and spotted Tasmania.

Well almost.

And started plotting to return within the year, after just one day.  

Watching the sunset after discovering a new city is a feeling that will stay with me for a long time.

Some times we all just need a little timeout.

To refresh and have a chance to miss all the little things that we love about our daily life, especially the little people in it.

They were missed fierce.

We had excited conversations mapping our future, sharing laughs in only the way two people can who share so much.

Reconnecting.

Cheers, Melbourne!

Thanks for having us.

Make a bag with Cath.

Have you ever heard of Cath Kidston? I hadn't until I started becoming more and more familiar with sewing and textile type blogs and her name kept popping up everywhere.  She designs pretty patterns for the home and has gorgeous, GORGEOUS fabrics with a country, sweet sort of flair to them. Lots of pastels and flowers and all things pretty. She's me.

But more clever. And famous.

I spotted this beauty of a book last year and to my suprise, it came with a free project inside.

FREE!!

My favourite word.

I just had to get my mitts onto that book and over to the checkout immediately.

There is a TV show out there called 'Hoarders'. I don't watch it but have many friends unable to look away. My husband believes me, to be of the craft book hoarding variety. I have several. But they inspire me and they yield totally beautiful results so rather than buying myself copious handbags.

I just make them.  

And that's a good enough reason for me, to hoard my crafty books.

And the project was free.

FREE!!

All finished and ready to look dapper on someone's shoulder.

Not mine unfortunately.

 This was a present.

But I have fond memories of our time together.

My other hobbies include patting and fondling fabric.