Ali G Knits

Good Intentions

2012-01-18T17:11:00.003+13:00

No New Year's Resolutions for me this year, but I do have some good intentions instead ;).

This year I intend:

* to spend more time creating things for others
* to divide my creative time more evenly between my chosen crafts
* to actually sew some clothes for my girls and myself - less procrastination and more actual making!
* to cook more!
* to read to my children every day
* to make sure my children get individual time from me every day
* to do more fun, family stuff
* to not put pressure on myself by over committing
* to reduce spending and start saving for a house deposit

That's it. Keeping it simple - and hopefully achievable. I really want to focus on my non working time being fun and fulfilling.

Further to my up-cycling/re-purposing mission from my last post, here are some bargains I've picked up from local thrift stores in the last week.

These are vintage sheets to ad to my small collection. These will be turned into at least one, probably two, duvet covers/quilts for my girls.

These are some laces and ribbons I picked up along with a new in it's packet Egyptian cotton sateen pillowcase, that will hopefully reduce the knots in Izzy's very curly hair - all for $2!!

On a very sad note I just heard that good friends of ours lost their lovely 18 year old nephew last Friday. He had a nasty, aggressive form of cancer that moved very quickly and unfortunately he lost his battle - such a wonderful, intelligent, energetic, friendly, fun loving boy who has gone from this world far too soon. I cannot begin to imagine what his family are going through and my heart goes out to them ♥ RIP Nick ♥

Cancer is such an evil disease that breaks hearts and destroys lives!

Last Friday (the 13th) was also Ollie's 12th birthday and I realise how precious life is and how lucky we are to have him and our other three wonderful children. They drive me crazy at times but I love them so much cannot imagine life without them ♥. So, hug your loved ones and hold them close, cherish all the precious moments you have with them - and don't forget to tell them you love them!

Progress

2012-01-06T16:06:00.000+13:00

After my bright idea yesterday, I went out to pick up Kim's replacement turntable (the one I bought him for Christmas got stuck on the wrong speed - somewhere between 45 and 33!) and drove past a Salvation Army shop. So I stopped - as you do when you've decided to make a quilt/duvet cover using only pre-loved materials! The first thing I spotted was a really cute wee art deco-ish armchair. I immediately asked them to hold it for me while I ruminated on it (and searched for fabric). I got a whole heap of clothing and vintage sheets to re-purpose and decided I should really pass on the armchair as I'm also trying to spend as little as possible at the moment.

Well that worked for all of about 10 seconds before I turned around, went back and paid for the armchair! I'm hopeless - it's no wonder we can't afford to buy a house yet!!

Anyway, here's my progress on my patchwork duvet cover from stash and my newest piece of furniture:

Oh, and I don't think I ever blogged about my little foot stool either. I bought it at a local thrift store early last year (2011) and peeled back all it's ugly layers and recovered it.

From this (blerk!)

I quite like the inside fabric, so have left that.

This was interesting to discover! I quite like the candlewick effect, but sadly it was stained and a bit ick, so had to go.

And this was the original layer of fabric. Not heinous, but not really my style either. It's still under there though, just in case!

I also love that the wheels on both the armchair and the footstool/glory box watchamacallit are the same! It's the little things ;)

January's Mission

2012-01-05T14:17:00.001+13:00

Right, I have made a snap decision (not unusual for me) that this month I am going to make a patchwork quilt/duvet cover out of materials sourced solely from secondhand stores. I love vintage fabrics like old sheets from the 70's, but they are like hen's teeth these days (oh dear, I sound rather old!) so I'm going to find some fabrics that I like in whatever form I can find them in and I'm going to make something new from them. Recycling and reusing.

I'm halfway through a duvet cover for one of my girls, but I realised that despite working from stash, I'm not in love with most of the fabrics. I'll finish it and one of the girls will be happy, but I'd prefer to make something I really like and feel proud of.

I'm in a bit of a funk at the moment, so hopefully this small challenge will help to get some neurons firing.

Out with the old ...

2012-01-04T13:17:00.001+13:00

Well it's taken me a few days to get around to writing my first post for 2012, but here it is finally. I read on Little Tin Bird's blog about not having resolutions, but having intentions for the year instead. I really like that idea as it feels as though there could be less failure that way! I am still formulating my list of good intentions for 2012, but that will be the focus of another blog entry.

Tomorrow I want to reflect a little on the year that has finished - part of which will feed into my intentions for the year ahead. But for today I'm just going to show a couple of pics from the new year.

The girls started sharing a bedroom at the beginning of 2012, but they have had their beds in bunks so that they could maximise their floor space. We decided that it wasn't working so well any more - especially when Izzy's bed (top bunk) was so hard to make and the floor just ended up as a 'storage' space for clothes and toys! So, out with the bunks and in with the beds as singles, leaving much less floor space, but for now it's tidy and organised - and both beds can be made easily.

Old

New

First souvla of the year - and it was delicious too!

And our first el fresco dining experience of the year! Yum!!

I've also changed the boys' room around and managed to rid the house of some excess furniture, which is currently languishing in the garage until we can either sell it or take it to the local thrift store!

This year I intend to start doing a pictorial monthly mosaic of what I've been making as I love seeing these when I read some of my favourite blogs. For some really lovely ones, check out these blogs:

Attic24
Crochet with Raymond
Little Tin Bird
Le Monde de Sucrette
Yarn Around Hook

And, yes, there's a common theme here - crochet! I've been loving getting into crochet these last couple of months and I've done very little knitting in that time. Another one of my intentions for 2012 is to spend equal time on all of my favourite pastimes - and have finished objects to show off as well. My list of wips is getting longer every day, which is most unlike me. With knitting I tend to stay monogamous to each project until it's finished, but crochet is a whole other kettle of fish (or basket of yarn!)!!

Anyway, more of that tomorrow ...

The month of merriment

2011-12-28T20:59:00.002+13:00

Well Christmas has been and gone. It was a mad rush leading up to it, as always, with dance recitals, end of year gatherings and presents to be made and purchased. I felt slightly more in control of things this year, but there was still the last minute crazy frenzy of finding gifts and organising meal menus.

We had a wonderful time with friends and family and are now looking forward to a few weeks of fun and relaxation to recover!

Here are a few highlights of our Christmas Day:

Some of the carnage while two of them are engrossed in a favourite gift

Dancing Queen

Some crochet samples I've done from my new crochet book, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman

Eddie taking advantage of a basket I just cleared out to use for my crochet!

A birdcage 'skirt' I made today to try and decrease the amount of seed mess that gets tossed around the place by the naughty little budgies.

My kitchen windowsill

The sunset last night (from my living room window)

Edited to add: I completely forgot to add pictures of all the gorgeous handmade Christmas ornaments we now have. Many of these are from swaps from this year and last year, and all the rest I made.

Early Christmas (in pictures)

2011-12-21T19:59:00.000+13:00

We had an early Christmas this last weekend as my mother was visiting from Christchurch to see my daughters' dance recital. She couldn't stay until the 25th so we decided to have an 'early' Christmas dinner!

Mojito - yummmmmy!!

My first ever Christmas cake!

Dancing through the year

2011-12-20T18:59:00.001+13:00

This will be a very short but sweet post. I am so proud of my clever girls and the work they have both put in this year with their dancing.

The first few photos are of Izzy's ballet dance. She was just amazing and we're so proud of how far she has come and how lovely her dancing is. I didn't get any pictures of her jazz dance, but she did just as well in that too. There were tears in her father's, her grandmothers' (both were there) and her mother's eyes watching her performance.

Tessa has completed her first year of ballet (3 year old ballet) and performed in her first ever dance recital. She was so very cute and earnest and managed to complete the 'dance' without any hitches (unlike her big sister when she was 3 and had to be carried off the stage by the big girl helper as she refused to do anything but cross her arms and look grumpy!!).

The first photo is from the actual recital, but as I was backstage in the wings to be there for when she came off stage, Kim only got a couple of pictures. The other photos are of earlier in the year and show different parts of her recital dance.

Watching their recital was definitely a very proud and happy mummy moment ♥

Tally Time!

2011-12-13T19:44:00.003+13:00

I have been very slack at updating on Tuesdays, but I have finally got my act together and have made a little progress on my blanket. I am panicking slightly that I won't get it finished in time, but I will do what I can and reassess closer to the big day. I haven't finished many more squares, but have been concentrating on joining the squares together. These are shown partially joined and they will spread considerably with blocking also. It's sitting on a king single bed, so hopefully once it's finished, blocked and had a border added, it'll fit Tessa's single bed perfectly.

I've also been busy finishing other things too, as well as racing around carting children to and from a zillion activities and end of year events.

Here's a wee shrug I finished last night that will be part of Tessa's Christmas presents. The photo shows it unblocked and unmodelled - I'll get better pics of her wearing it after Christmas. The pattern is gorgeous and so easy - it's a new pattern by Kelly Brooker, called the Cornwall Park Shrug. I can't wait to see this on Tess!

This coming weekend is my daughters' dance recital. I'm a tad worried about how my 4 year old will cope being on stage for the first time, although she's very excited about it. I'm so looking forward to my mother coming up on Friday as she'll be able to see the recital in real life for the first time, rather than on dvd. My 9 year old is doing so well with her dancing and if the rehearsal the other day was anything to go by, she's going to do fantastically! I helped out with costumes on the weekend, by sewing on some lace to the tutus that Izzy's ballet group will be wearing - I can't wait to see them worn and danced in.

And finally, I thought I'd add some photos of the lovely place where I live. These were all taken while I was out on a walk around the street above my house a few days ago. The views encompass both sides of the hill on which I live. While walking and taking pictures I realised how lucky I am to be living in such a beautiful environment. And while I get annoyed at times living so far up a hill and having to drive to get to anywhere (easily), there are advantages too.

The photo below shows the little school (with the red roofs) that Tess will be going to next year. It's such a lovely little school, with lots of greenery and play areas, some chickens and a children's garden. And across the water is the airport.

This photo is from the street above looking down on my street.

And here was the view from my living room window last night. The hills in the distance are the Kaikoura Ranges in the South Island.

Despite my continual complaints about our weather here in Wellington, I do love this little city.

Oh, and I keep forgetting to add that you can check out Gingerbread Girl's blog for regular updates on the other people participating in Tuesday's Tallys.

Welcome to Summer!

2011-12-01T17:15:00.001+13:00

Well it's officially the first day of summer here in New Zealand, and a glorious day it has been - as well as the beginning of the crazy Christmas season! I'm trying to do things a little differently this year for Christmas. Usually I have great intentions of making things and being organised but then end up leaving things to the last minute and having to buy stuff I'd rather not have to buy and dashing madly around getting all hot, bothered and stressed! I'm sure that will also happen this year, but hopefully to a much lesser extent.

I am feeling amazingly calm and happy at the moment, in part due to not having to organise a birthday party for my eldest child for the first time in 14 years. Yes, my son is turning 14 on Saturday the 3rd of December and that just blows me away. How is it possible I have a 14 year old ~~child~~ young adult?! It often seems of late that the hours, days, months and years are just whizzing by and picking up speed as they go. Surely I'm only just out of my 20's??? Hmmm, seemingly not. And given that my dear spouse and I have just celebrated 16 years of matrimonial bliss and 21 years of being together I guess I have to accept the fact that I am no longer a spring chicken and that my kids are fast growing up.

Anyway, enough philosophising (if that's what I was doing!) and back to what I've been up to. Unfortunately I've been busy doing many things, so I haven't made as much progress on my Flowers in the Snow blanket. I can tell you I have completed over 100 squares but I can't be more specific as I haven't counted them recently. I have been busy making dishcloths for gifts for my daughters' school and kindy teachers, Christmas ornaments for a swap (14 of them) and also the start of a new blanket for a friend's new grandchild. Oh and I've also quickly whipped up an Advent Calendar for my children!

... and some crochet goodness :)

This is the new blanket I am making - a Vintage Vertical Stripe blanket, which I'm loving!!

The collection of dishcloths I've made for teacher's gifts:

And my blanket squares along with all my other crochet work (apart from the decorations which I've only just sent off today so I can't show them yet).

That's it for now - I have many other things I want to make and do in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully there'll be more to show soon.

Tuesday, Tuesday

2011-11-15T18:19:00.001+13:00

Yes, after a break of a couple of weeks, I'm back with my Tuesday's Tally. It's been a busy couple of weeks, with my baby turning 4 and organising her party (not that organising it to be held at Junglerama was difficult, but you know what I mean!) and various other bits and pieces going on.

Anyhoo, this will be short and sweet as I have much crocheting to do if I want to have it done by Christmas! Here is my progress to date: 97 squares with at least another one or two to be finished by the end of today.

Well, that's it! I haven't laid them all out for a while and looking at it I think I'm only about halfway - yikes! That's a tad demoralising I must say, but I will carry on and hopefully get a whole heap more done and get them all together by Christmas.

Oh, and I *may* have started a new, smaller blanket last night as well - more on that next time ;)

A few random photos

2011-11-13T18:52:00.001+13:00

Birthday girl

A very reluctant candle blower outer!! (she's afraid of the fire, lol)

The gift haul (or most of it - the microwave is out of view and we already had the doll, she's just modelling the doll clothes Tess was given by her grandmother)

Tess doing ballet and wearing the outfit her Yiayia gave her.

Before and after pics of my recent haircut. The before photos were taken first thing in the morning and I looked pretty terrible!! And the after pic was taken by me, so not the best either!

Before (bleurgh!)

After - note my eyebrows are also looking a tad tidier here!

And here's my latest creation - handbag/knitting bag based loosely on the Offhand Designs bags I love and also another Etsy bag maker, Julian Baglady. I'm pretty happy with it, although there are a few wee flaws and I'd change a couple of things next time.

Oh, and last but not least, here's a bad (iphone) pic of a little injury Tess suffered on Friday - she managed to stand on a stack of about 10 staples at kindy and one whole side was completely embedded in her foot, with the other side in about a millimetre!! Poor wee poppet! We had to wait for ages at the Medical Centre before the doctor managed to pull them out. Her foot was all bandaged up for her party at Junglerama on Saturday, but luckily it didn't seem to cause any problems.

The bottom of the picture is where the staples are completely sunken into her foot!

Right, I'll be posting about my blanket progress on Tuesday - have been too busy recently to update. Bye for now :)

Tessa turns 4

2011-11-10T21:30:00.001+13:00

Well, it's the beginning of birthday season in our house. Tessa kicked things off with her birthday on November the 9th. She was very excited and is still very excited because her party will be held on Saturday the 12th, so it's more like a party week here! Her birthday was a lovely day, starting by her opening a couple of presents at home before Daddy left for work and her big sisters and brothers went to school:

Then after this early morning activity and the big kids and Daddy had headed off, we got ready and raced into town to join our very dear friend Nicki at a cafe for a spot of coffee (or hot chocolate in the wee princess's case) and cake.Nicki gave her a cute little 'special things' container, which has since taken pride of place on her dressing table. We went to Martha's Pantry, a cute little cafe in central Wellington. I happened to mention that it was Tessa's birthday and the lovely staff popped a candle in her chosen slice of gorgeous pink cake. Unfortunately the candle proved slightly worrisome for Tess and she was rather wary of getting too close (clever chicken!), so she and I blew it out together.

After this lovely morning tea, I dropped Tess to kindy and and went to work as usual. Our afternoon was spent with our family and Tess had a lovely time opening the rest of her presents so far.

The Ice Age 3 dvd was a great hit - she loves it!!

So that was her day, and it was lovely :-). It seems like only a blink of an eye since she was born, so teeny tiny and snuggled up in my arms and here she is, a lovely, happy, cheeky, chatty, singing, dancing little bundle of four year old energy!! Can the growing up part just slow down now please??!! My baby isn't a baby any more and this Mama is just a wee bit sad. And yet so very proud of my delightful little girl <3

Tally Time

2011-10-25T17:44:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone. Yes, it's time for the One a Day Tuesday Tally again. I was naughty and missed last week's tally and although I haven't been making as many squares as I'd like, I have got a few more to add this week. I currently have 76 completed squares, with another one just needing the white border added. It's only 5:30pm here in New Zealand so I have all evening to add to my tally and fully intend to take advantage of that time! I'd like to get to 80 by tonight - we'll see.

Edited to add: 11pm and I have finished 80 squares :)

Don't forget to pop over to Gingerbread's blog and check out what everyone else has been up to as well - some amazing projects are going on! As of right now the new Tuesday Tally isn't up, but should be shortly.

I also managed to complete another bag for our school fair on November the 5th. It has a cell phone pocket as well as another, larger pocket inside and a snap closure. I quite like this one and will be making a couple more in different fabrics (and maybe one for myself ;) )

Well, that's all for today - see you same (ish) time, same place next week with some more crochet goodness, and hopefully some other creative endeavours also :)

Gift making

2011-10-23T16:13:00.001+13:00

Well, one of Izzy's best friends is having her birthday today so yesterday Izzy and I got busy creating. I saw this fabulous post on a friend's blog the other day and was inspired (plus I love owls), so Izzy and I decided to make one for her friend's birthday gift.

I went out to Pete's Emporium, which is like a huge $2 shop but with fabric, buttons and loads of other craft goodies at very reasonable prices, and found canvasses and then went to Spotlight and the Warehouse for scrapbooking paper. I didn't have a template for the owls and couldn't print anything of the internet because my printer is out of ink so I just drew the templates up myself.

I cut out the shapes in the scrapbooking paper and Izzy chose which patterns to put where on the owls and then Izzy glued them on. Yes, it does look pretty much exactly the same as Miriam's second one, but don't they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?!

Now, apparently this wasn't enough to suffice as gift in Izzy's eyes so I needed to make something else. I suggested bunting and Izzy thought that was a great idea, and that it would look even better if I appliqued her friend's name on it. So, while she glued, I cut out and sewed bunting! Again, I had no letter templates so I just did the letters freehand. Izzy chose the colours and overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Izzy loves both things and then wanted to keep the owl canvas (well, she wanted both but her name isn't Olivia!). Luckily we have another canvas and more scrapbooking paper so we'll do one for her to put in hers and Tessa's room. These were both heaps of fun to make, so I'm sure there'll be more on the way, specially with the birthday and Christmas season fast approaching!

Saturday

2011-10-22T12:56:00.002+13:00

I completely missed doing my Tuesday Tally this week, so here's a quick look at what my squares are looking like now. There are now 68 squares completed. I've been busy doing other things in the last week or so, so my poor squares have been neglected somewhat.

Here's what else I've been up to:

an Eden's Adam in size 3 for a custom order in BWM cotton in Wild Lavender.

The person who ordered it had knitted the straps and one side down to the bottom of the armhole and I did the rest. I really like how this looks on Tess - and it's very tempting to knit one for her now too!

In fact I've just started on at test knit of a very cute summer dress and am using the same cotton.

I'm also trying to sew things for our school fair coming up on November 5th. This is the beginning of what I hope will be quite a few things - there's another (in a different design to this one) nearly finished as well. This one was made using fabric from a sample book and is a dark chocolate on one side and purple on the other, with a deep burgundy lining fabric.

This is a Paxton Cardigan in knitted a while ago, using 100Purewool 10ply instead of the recommended 8ply yarn. It's a newborn size (the pattern comes in prem, small newborn and newborn) but has come out a 6 - 12 month size. I have only just got around to weaving in the ends and blocking it as the intended recipient will be the right size in the wrong season!

And finally, I spent some time yesterday searching for the right materials to make one of these, which I found on a blog I follow. I fell in love with it straight away and knew we had to give it a go. How cute is that?! I will show you the fruits of our labours in my next post ....

Hokey Pokey

2011-10-16T16:30:00.001+13:00

Mmmmmm. Every time I hear 'hokey pokey' I think of Cadbury Crunchie Bars - yummm!!! This hokey pokey, however, is not crunchy but deliciously soft and just as yummy as the chocolate bar, only in a different way. This hokey pokey refers to the name of the colour of the gorgeous yarn I bought a while ago from Hannah on Facebook (or Hannah can also be found at Red Riding Hood Yarns ) where she does regular stockings of scrumptious yarns. She actually did send a Crunchie Bar with the yarn too (lucky me!) - thanks Hannah

This delicious yarn also features in my blog title up the top there ↑↑ (the yummy yellow one in the centre). And now it looks like this:

I really love this cardigan design. It is Jane from Georgie Hallam, another fabulous pattern to add to many gorgeous patterns from Georgie. This pattern is so versatile - as written it uses up very little yarn and is a perfect cardigan to be worn over a pretty dress. You can weave ribbons through the 'lattice' like lace pattern, so the cardigan can be closed at the front, but I prefer it as is. You can find this pattern on Ravelry too.

Right, that's enough from me for today - everyone here is gearing up for the Rugby World Cup semi final tonight between the mighty All Blacks and Australia. This is a big deal here in New Zealand and the males in my household (except for the cats and birds, who really couldn't care less) are champing at the bit for it to be on. Me? I'm not exactly a rugby fan, but I am feeling the tension and preparing for the inevitable yelling at the tv screen and general stress and mayhem that always goes hand in hand with these high pressure games. Go the All Blacks!

Playing house

2011-10-14T17:42:00.001+13:00

Last weekend we got a new chest freezer as the freezer part of our fridge freezer is tiny and for a family of 6, it makes it very difficult to plan ahead with meals or have much of anything on hand. So, new chest freezer collected and installed - yay!! What to do with the huge box it came in? Why, turn it into a house of course ;)

A lovely friend and her children came to our house yesterday and with the help of a clever 11 year old, Izzy and Tess cut out a door and painted the box and today Izzy and Tess decorated it with flowers. Tah dah!!

Let's try and ignore the 'extra' painting that occurred at the same time ;)

In other news, Ollie played in a futsal tournament yesterday and his team won, which was great to see. So he came home a happy, if not pretty exhausted boy!!

The kids have all had sleepovers and movie trips and playdates these holidays, so despite some pretty crappy weather (we had a hail storm today!) they've still managed to have a good time.

Here are three of them snuggling under a blanket together after a lovely Christening we went to at the weekend - awww! We got to meet an old friend's latest addition to her family - an absolutely gorgeous wee girl ♥

And while the kids were snuggling, I was doing exactly what I am now - enjoying a lovely cup of tea :)

Recently I participated in a kitchen tea swap with some friends. These are the lovely goodies I received, two lovely (and much needed) tea towels, a cute wee pink notepad, an awesome knitted and sewn hand towel for the kitchen (pictured below in use already, alongside some choc hip cookies Ollie made) and some scrummy chocolates (which lasted all of 3 minutes!). Lucky me!!

Here's what I sent to my recipient:

(her photo as I didn't get one of all of it together)

Right, that's enough from me. I hope you all have a lovely weekend - I'll be busy knitting and crocheting :)

Tuesday

2011-10-11T18:50:00.001+13:00

Yes, once again it's time for Tuesday's Tally from my One a Day group on Ravelry. So without further ado, here is my progress to date:

I now have 57 squares but my progress has been slowed down by several knitting projects that need to be finished. I finished one of those last night, but haven't blocked it yet and I need to make a start on another one this evening to get it done asap so I can begin a test knit of a lovely summer dress that I will hopefully have finished for Tess's 4th birthday early in November.

I also have a list a mile long of projects I need to get done in the next couple of months, so I need to get cracking and pick up the pace a little!

I must also resist the urge to begin any other non-essential projects. After reading Attic 24's and Little Tin Bird's blogs today, I'm itching to start either a granny stripe blanket or a ripple blanket. I do need to start one for Izzy, but must resist until I have finished all the projects on my 'must do' list!

It's school holidays right now and this is the first time since before Tessa was born that I need to juggle working during the day and child care - and I had totally forgotten what a hassle it can be! Luckily I have great friends and a wonderful mother-in-law who have stepped in and are helping out. Also Kim will be taking some leave, along with me taking a few hours leave as well. I only work 3 hours a day, four days a week - who'd have thought it would have such an impact!

Right, I'd best get back to all these projects if I have any hope of getting them done!

A Tah Dah Post!

2011-10-05T20:48:00.002+13:00

I recently participated in a kitchen tea swap and had so much fun making the swap items! I haven't been able to post the pictures until the recipient received them - and she did today, so I can now do the big reveal.

Tah dah!

The teapot cosy pattern is from crochetwthraymond's blog. I really loved making this - I modified it a little by knitting it in the round. The flowers are from various free patterns on Ravelry and I wish I'd had time to make more, but I really needed to get this in the post, so my next one will be a bit more floral!

The flower coaster pattern is from this site.

I'm really loving crochet at the moment and have so many plans for more projects, so watch this space ...

It's Tuesday!

2011-10-04T20:57:00.000+13:00

Yes, it's Tuesday again.

I'm not sure how these weeks manage to whiz by so quickly, but they do, so here's another update on Tess's blanket. I'm up to 46 squares (it will be 48 by the end of the evening) and still having fun with it. Go and visit Gingerbread Girl's blog for further details and to see others' fabulous Tuesday updates :)

It's still looking pretty tiny on this bed, although it is a king single, so slightly larger than a standard single bed.

And just cause I can, here's a pic of Eddie, one of my two beautiful cats. He loves climbing in baskets and boxes - and this time took advantage of me taking my crochet yarns out of my knitting bag to sort them out and jumped right on in!

I also snapped a pic of my littlest one, helping to make an omelette, with my 11 year old in the background making himself a miso soup! Action stations in the kitchen ;-).

Generosity

2011-09-29T20:34:00.001+13:00

Today I had a lovely surprise when I checked the letterbox. There was a parcel for me (always a good start!) and inside it was a replacement frame for one of my cherished Offhand Designs bags and ...

voila, two gorgeous needlecases!! Two lovely people from a Ravelry group I'm on have each gifted me a needlecase (one for fixed circulars and one for interchangeables) from the recent Offhand Designs sale on Etsy. The photo really doesn't do these needlecases justice - they're beautifully made and are already filled with all my needles.

I also finished a dolly Darwinia dress test knit for designer Georgie Hallam (aka Tikki). It's so cute and destined to make up part of Tessa's 4th birthday present in November.

Eddie was slightly freaked out by the dolly!!

Tuesday Tally time again

2011-09-27T16:56:00.000+13:00

Eek! It's been a whole week and I haven't posted about anything else, so it's back to Tuesday's Tally again. After last week's tally I re-evaluated my blanket plan and decided to go with something a little bit more 'little girlie' as this is for my 3 year old, so I have started a whole new blanket! I have selected this pattern from Ravelry, by Solveig Grimstad, although there were several contenders. I'm so indecisive and have swung between three or four patterns, but finally decided on this one. Tess loves it, so hopefully it'll be good when it's done as this will be my first ever crochet blanket.

I now have 25 squares - all done over ~~three~~ four days! I got sidetracked by some dolly knitting yesterday and didn't get a chance to do any, but will be getting another few under my belt tonight.

In other news Oliver has been selected to play in the Wellington Federation District Team in their talent development programme. This is very exciting for him and has been a bit of a boost for his confidence. It does, however, mean that our summer will now be packed with soccer practices and games - so much for my reprieve from being a sports taxi driver!

Ok, must dash - have Izzy's parent/teacher/child conference this evening and I must get the washing out and dinner on. Until next week ....

Edited to add: I've completed another three squares tonight, so officially 28 squares for my Tuesday Tally!

Tuesday's Tally

2011-09-20T17:24:00.001+12:00

Well, it's Tuesday, so it's tally time again! I have been good and have done at least one square per day - and two on Friday. Being part of this Ravelry group is definitely keeping me on the straight and narrow and I've decided I'd like to get this blanket done by Christmas so I can give it Tess as part of her Christmas present.

ETA. I actually have done 17, not 16 - I forgot I had one hiding in my bag!!
I think I need to do a photography course though, because I can't seem to photograph these colours right at all and it's really frustrating me! They keep coming out too bright and make the colours look washed out. I've tried inside photos with and without the flash and outside photos with and without the flash. I give up!

Anyway, on other things - I have been testing a couple of patterns recently for tikki (Georgi Hallam) and here is the result of one. This is Jane, a gorgeous wee cardigan that will be perfect for the summer and also between seasons. I love it and so does Tess - so much so that I'm currently knitting another!

The other test knit I'm doing is for some wee doll clothes, which will be a present for Tess for her birthday in November. I'm going to wait until I've finished all of them before I do a big tah dah post :).

Oh, and after Izzy beiong so clever as to make her own cushion the other day, Tess also 'had' to have one so I whipped her up one in her choice of fabrics as well!

Izzy's first sewing project

2011-09-18T16:55:00.001+12:00

A few months ago I picked up a really cute little sewing machine at a local thrift store. They sell electrical items as is and you can't test them, but for $10 I figured it was worth the risk! Well, I got it home, cleaned it up and after some fiddling with the tension dials I got it working beautifully. It's such a cute wee machine and just hums along - and has a pretty great stitch quality too. It's a wee Globe Cub 6 and I bought it with the intention of giving it to Izzy if she was interested.

Finally, yesterday, she actually asked if she could make something on it, so I immediately set it up for her and gave her some scrap fabric to play and practice on. She had a ball and then wanted to have a go at actually making something, so I suggested a simple envelope style cushion. She chose fabric from my stash and we watched a tutorial on Youtube so she could see what she needed to do and how it should be done. Simple. And then my clever 9 year old set about making it. I helped with the iron and the cutting, but she did all of the sewing and I am so proud of her! Here are the results:

Isn't she a clever cookie?!

One a Day - Tuesday Tally

2011-09-13T22:26:00.002+12:00

I have joined a group on Ravelry to help motivate me to actually complete a crochet blanket! The object is to complete, you guessed it, one part of the project every day. Depending on what that project is, it could be one square, one row or whatever other part of the project counts as 'one a day'. I have chosen to do a basic granny square blanket for Tess and if I manage to complete that, then I 'll do a different one for Izzy. I will check in every Tuesday and do a progress update (to keep me honest!).

I didn't start this project until the weekend, due to finishing other things and having quite a bit on recently, but so far I have made 8 squares (please excuse the appalling photo - I've been at work til late so didn't get a chance to do one in daylight) with another about to be finished:

I've also been following the progress of other group members as well here.

Help me win a knitting bag

2011-09-05T11:03:00.003+12:00

This is a shameless begging post! I will be back later to update you all on our weekend away, but in the meantime I'd love it if you could vote for me on a Facebook knitting bag photo competition.

I have fallen in love with pretty much all of the Offhand Designs knitting bags that Larisa has designed and made. The quality is excellent, the bags are beautiful and the designs are perfect for knitting or everyday use. Here's the link to the competition (and my photo): http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=268212763202995&set=a.267351589955779.72755.115805075110432&type=1&theater. If I am lucky enough to win, I will get a beautiful bag as the prize - and we can't get these bags here in New Zealand, so fingers crossed I win it!!

My husband took the photo when we stopped for lunch just south of Taihape on our way to Taupo for my 11 year old son's soccer tournament. Unfortunately the camera battery died before we got there, and I couldn't get any more photos on the good camera. I will put some pics up later of the trip, but all of the photos in Taupo and of the tournament are from my iPhone, so the quality isn't good!

In the photo I am looking over to the hillside where there were several ewes with their wee lambs. I am wearing a scarf I knitted from some lovely New Zealand wool given to me by a friend, who had dyed it herself. The pattern for the scarf is the Garden City Scarf, by NZ designer Sheryl Greenfield, who designed it to commemorate all those who have been affected by the Christchurch earthquakes. The design is lovely and the scarf can be knitted in fingering (4 ply) or worsted (10 ply) weight yarn and is a really enjoyable, quick knit.

If you're on Facebook, please vote for me! Thanks - and back later with more about our mini getaway :)

Snow!!

2011-08-15T21:01:00.002+12:00

I'll let my photos speak for me - and Wellingtonians will understand how special this is as I think it's been something like 50 years since Wellington has had a decent smattering of snow!

The view from my living room window at about 9am

At about 11:30am

And now we're in the middle of a full scale storm - lightning, thunder, hail, gale force winds, power outages in some parts of Wellington. And it was sunny this morning!!

Today was also the day I started my new job - that is a new role in the private hospital I work at. I am now working as an administration assistant in the Operating Theatres with a fabulous team of staff. Today was an orientation day and despite the fact I've worked at the hospital for eight years now there are so many places I've never been before - it was really interesting. And of course, we spent a decent amount of time just gazing out at the snow, haha!

Of course, every momentous day has it's disasters - I managed to leave my car lights on when I parked at work. I *may* have been so excited by playing in the snow that I didn't notice the car's wee alarm beep, indicating the lights have been left on, as I closed the driver's door ;). Anyhoo, when I got back (just before school pick up) the car was dead. Panic stations!! No-one at work had jumper leads - not even the maintenance men (what's with that? Surely all self respecting maintenance men have flipping jumper leads at the ready??!!). So I raced over to Ollie's school (next door to where I work) and got him, while Kim rang kindy to get them to hold onto Tess and Izzy (Izzy's school is right next door to the kindy and she meets me there). Luckily another mother at Ollie's school had jumper leads and she came and rescued me - phew!

So eventually we got home and have been all cuddled up with the woodburner doing its thing and keeping us all cosy while the storm rages outside. I ♥ that woodburner!!

Enough from me - I'm going to knit for the rest of my evening. I hope everyone in New Zealand is staying cosy and warm inside. xx

New Look!

2011-08-14T18:02:00.002+12:00

Welcome to my new look blog - I have been playing around as I was getting very bored with my previous design. Anyway, I like the new one as it's bright and cheerful - and looking at some of my gorgeous yarn makes me happy!

I've been in a major knitting lull recently, but have been chipping away at a few projects. I can't show a couple of them yet, mainly because I haven't yet blocked them so can't take pics - oops! I did try my hand at something new last weekend, which was fun and I'm quite happy with the result.

This purse was for my mother's birthday and luckily she loves it. I followed this tutorial, but had to modify it significantly to factor in the fact that my purse had a double opening frame, so I needed to put a divider between the two sides and I wanted to add card slots as well.

I love the size of this - it will take at least 10 cards as they can fit in the slots two deep and it also fits my iphone, which is very handy. I need to make one of these for me now - and I did learn a lot from this one.

I have recently also whipped up a hat for Kim - although I upsized my needles from the last one I knitted (for Fin's friend who shaved his head for cancer research fundraising) so it's slightly bigger than he'd like.

The hat for Fin's friend

Kim's hat

I also haven't shown a recent custom knit either, so here's a cute wee Teacher's Pet I knitted for a wee four year old girl.

And a dress I sewed for Tessa using a vintage sheet and from a combination of this tutorial and this one.

Anyway, thats all for now - more next time. Take care all New Zealanders and stay warm - for all those non New Zealanders who may be reading this, we're having a major cold snap here at the moment and have actually had snow in Wellington!!!

New additions to my family

2011-07-08T22:00:00.005+12:00

Well, I have been a wee bit naughty of late and we now have a couple of additions to our family.

Yesterday I popped into a nearby secondhand store and found this wee gem:

She is a Singer 201K, made in 1955 in Clydebank, Scotland and I am in love (must be my Scottish heritage coming out in me!)! Of course I couldn't possibly leave her there, all lonely and forlorn. So she came home with me and I am very happy to welcome her into my family (the rest of the family is slightly less enthusiastic, but we won't worry about them!).

Isn't she beautiful? She does have a couple of idiosyncrasies (sp?), like I left her plugged in while I checked online for a manual and she suddenly started sewing all by herself!! Luckily she wasn't threaded and had no fabric under the presser foot at the time, so no harm done - although it was rather odd! I'll ask my dearest brother (and only brother) to check her wiring out as he's an electrician by trade and I'm sure he'd love to help me out!

And today we welcomed two new wee family members, as yet un-named.

The children picked them out and I was a little surprised they chose these two as I expected some bright colours. But I had mentioned I quite liked the wee pale grey one (almost white) and they noticed the darker grey one and the light grey one were quite snuggly so didn't want to separate them. Isn't that sweet??

They're both very young - too young to know what sex they are yet. The darker grey one will probably go more blue has he/she gets older as he/she's only about 6-8 weeks old at the moment. The other one is around 3 months old. Their new home is quite spacious for them and we're also hoping we can tame them enough to come out of the cage fom time to time.

Needless to say, the cats aren't terribly impressed that we are not allowing them anywhere near their 'snacks'!! And would it be wrong to mention here that when we got home with the two wee budgie babies, I saw that one of the cats had caught and 'disposed' of a bird while we were out? Naughty cats!!! And slightly ironic?!

Also here is a ballet cardigan that I knitted for Tess, only I used one pattern as my starting point and then made it up after that, but used the stitch numbers of the first pattern and totally forgot to factor in ease, so this is a bit big for Tess. Luckily the other little girl she does ballet with wants one too, so she's going to have this one and I will knit another for Tess.

And that's all from me for this week!

New Beginnings

2011-06-15T19:29:00.157+12:00

Oops! I didn't post at all in May. It was a busy month here, with me working extra hours at work through all of May. I managed to completely miss two of my nephews' birthdays and a good friend's birthday as well :(. Bad aunty and friend!!

However, there are a couple of exciting new happenings in my small world ...

I am currently knitting my last custom order and am now closed for custom orders for the foreseeable future. Yay!! Much as I've loved the last 19 months since Coco Kids opened for business, I'm very keen to take a break from knitting for others to concentrate on knitting for my own family and friends.

Don't get me wrong - I am still in business, but for a while I want to knit things I choose, in yarns I love and then will be selling ready made items.In order to be able to sell these ready made items, Coco Kids now have a Felt Store. Feel free to hop on over there and see what we have available ;). The store will be updated regularly, so make sure you keep checking back.

Another exciting update is that the lovely tikki (Georgie Hallam) has gifted all three of us Coco Kids the lifetime licences for all of her designs!! This is so fabulous as I love all of Georgie's designs and this will allow me to go a little crazy trying to knit one of everything in the next wee while (or it might be a slightly longer while as my knitting queue has just about doubled recently as it is!!).

A while ago I set out to record my yarn dyeing endeavours. I stalled along the way, as I often do with grand plans for my blog! But here are the pics of before during and after - and then the knitted up items. It's not going to be a tutorial as I originally planned, but it's now just going to be a pictorial look at my fun!

And the wound yarn with the items knitted from them:

Here are a few recent finished items:

These two cowls are from a fab new pattern by Christine Jeffery, the Colosseo Moebius Cowl. It's a fantastic cowl - and comes in two sizes and two yarn weights, 10 ply and 8 ply. This is so practical and warm - both of these were gifts for other people, but I really want to make another one for me!!

This is a really pretty 12 month size Cassia top/dress in Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn for a custom order.

The yarn for a test knit for Rachel Evans' new pattern, the Brooklynn Jacket (due for release soon) started life as cream, then turned into the yarn on the left below. I wasn't happy with it, though, so I overdyed it and it turned into the yarn on the right, below. I also dyed up some darker pink as trim and I'm really pleased with the result. Tessa loves her new cardigan/jacket and it's currently her only winter cardigan!

A Little Hoodlum for a custom order, a size 4 with size 6 length, knitted in The Wool Company's Seaweed (a discontinued colourway).

This is a test knit for the Dolly Milo by designer tikki (Georgie Hallam)

Sorry for the hugely long post, but if I don't do it now, it'd just never get done! Hopefully it's not another whole month before I post again!

Craft 2.0

2011-04-30T20:20:00.004+12:00

I am so far behind with my posting that I have decided to admit defeat and just post as I go again and maybe gradually catch up on events from earlier in the year as I go.

This month has been a busy one for the Coco Kids team, having just participated in our second Craft 2.0 at the Dowse Art Gallery in Lower Hutt on April 23rd (Easter Saturday). It was great fun and very busy - so busy in fact that we didn't get many photos at all, just a few before the rush of the public opening at 10am. Unfortunately these few aren't good as we had a window right behind us and my photography skills weren't quite up to dealing with that!

Here are a couple of pictures of my contribution to our stall:

And here are the three Coco Kids with a couple of our Coco Kidlets! Julia had her gorgeous new wee baby boy with her and Kate is soon to have her 3rd wee baby girl. My Izzy was there to help out and she was indeed a fabulous helper - even taking wee David and holding him for a little while.

It was a fun day and it was wonderful that Kate could come down from Auckland so we could all be together. We had a fabulous spot just inside the main doors and really couldn't be happier with the day.

kay, I need to get my smallest whirlwind off to bed, but I will be back in the next few days with some more posts, showing some of my latest creations.

Quick Catch up

2011-03-29T21:53:00.000+13:00

I have been very slack (read: useless) at updating my blog recently. Let's just say this year has been eventful and challenging so far!

I'm just going to quickly add pictures of my projects so far this year, in this post and update in a bit more detail later. I'vejust got back from a lovely visit to Christchurch and Oamaru, but will add photos and details about that in the next couple of days.

I sewed this summer dress for Izzy - but I cheated because it was pre shirred fabric!

A Kaia babydress for my friend Jamara's beautiful baby girl, Mila

A crochet bunting in memory of my friend Nicki's mother, Phillippa, who sadly passed away in January last year (she loved rainbows)

A rainbow Hotshot for a customer order

An Explorer Vest for my friend Julia's new baby boy, David

A Kaia Babydoll for Craft 2.0 this coming April

A Vanilla soaker for a customer order

A Slouchy Beret for ME!!

A cute wee 'butterfly' cardigan for Tess - a test knit for the lovely Georgie Hallam (Tikki on Ravelry)

detail of the butterflies

I WILL update with more details and photos and events later this week!

Shaken and Devastated

2011-02-25T23:54:00.000+13:00

22.02.2011: The day the earth shook and my hometown was changed forever, left in pieces on the ground - along with my heart and those of hundreds of thousands of fellow Cantabrians and New Zealanders.

I cannot get my head around what has happened in my beloved hometown of Christchurch. The devastation, the loss of life, the loss of the history of the beautiful city where I grew up - it's all too hard to comprehend. I am so incredibly grateful that all of my family and friends are safe and well, with only broken things to contend with, and not broken bodies.

I have been meaning to update here with posts of projects finished, of children's birthdays and of my impending 'big' birthday, but everything pales into insignificance when I watch television footage of the tragedy that has occurred in Christchurch. So many others who have lived through this horrendous ordeal have written heart wrenching stories of how they survived and the panic and fear that gripped this city following this violent earthquake that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, and was only 5km deep and very close to the city, directly under Lyttleton - and written them in a way that has brought tears to my eyes time and again.

There are stories of survival and bravery as people and communities pull together to help each other in a way that warms the heart and restores ones faith in human nature and the indomitable spirit of Cantabrians.

I have not lived in Christchurch for a number of years (in fact I have lived in Wellington for more years than I lived in Christchurch), but it is still and always will be 'home' to me. To see the city I love brought to its knees in this way, to see the beautiful, historical buildings I identify as being the heart of Christchurch, reduced to rubble, to see the people of Christchurch suffering and in pain, with too many having lost their lives - it's almost too much to bear. I have spent the last few days in a state of shock, not quite knowing what to do.

The Christchurch I remember is gone forever and the city will take years to rebuild, but it will never be the same. But it will be rebuilt and the spirit of Cantabrians will survive.

Just right now I feel a bit broken too ...

Hope

2011-02-13T23:42:00.003+13:00

I don't really know where to begin with this post. A lovely young family who live here in Wellington are currently grappling with what no family should ever have to face - their beautiful little daughter and sister, Hope, has an aggressive form of cancer. After battling for two years and finally being in remission a very short 5 months ago, it has tragically returned. And this time they can no longer battle it - it has spread and now they face the loss of their precious daughter and sister and have been given such a terribly short amount of quality time left to cherish her. Hope turns 4 on the 19th of February.

I am blatantly copying from my friend Julia's blog (with her permission), with links to many auctions and raffles that have been set up by the many lovely people out there who want to help this family. We would love to be able to raise enough money so that this wonderful family can spend as much quality time together as possible, without worrying about finances. Please bid generously and help us do what we can for Hope and her family.

On Trade Me:

For people in and around the Wellington region - a fabulous photograph shoot with Rachael Brown Photography (who took the picture above of Hope and her family) and a disc of the images here.

A gift card for a custom made/sized Unido Sling in your choice of fabric. Great for anyone with a baby or as a lovely gift for a family here

Some wonderful donations of yummy yarn that are hard to get in NZ - all with $1 reserves.

2 x 4oz skeins of Mosaic Moon Licorice Twist - Colourway: Spice Chest. This is a gorgeous warm colourway, not often dyed on this base (and very hard to get), the base has lent itself wonderfully to take in such warm cherry and auburn tones. Donated by Belinda McKay in Australia and you'll find the auction here

2 x 4oz skeins of Shoestring Organic Merino (Gaia Worsted) - Colourway: Little colt (Ponies-Horsie Hybrid). This is an extremely hard to get yarn in NZ, and a very hard to get colourway, Very gender neutral and would make the most perfect newborn clothing or even a sweet little rainbow dress (Tikki - Georgie Hallam Pattern) for your gorgeous daughter. Donated by Belinda McKay in Australia and you'll find the auction here

A 150gm skein of Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin (a fabulous machine washable 4ply/fingering weight yarn) in the colourway Sabrina, donated by Lisa Scott here

A 4oz skein of Family Roots Kona Superwash DK/8ply in the colourway Yarnia, donated also by Lisa Scott here

An Elite Cruiser Frontpack donated by Nikki here

An Amazing Game Book with 50 activities and games here

A Peke Moe in blue, with a freebie one thrown in too - donated by Gina here

A handcrafted Bells Stuff bear - donated by Sheryl here

A beautful handcrafted Oamaru stone carving by a talented Wellingtonian carver Tim White here

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On individual blogs

Alison has a lovely skein of Old Maiden Aunt yarn here

The yarny giveaway running on Julia's blog, just $5 for an entry :)

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On The Nappy Network - anyone can join to have a look at the auctions! You'd be surprised at what bargains some of the auctions are at the moment! And there's something for everyone, all are brand new.

* Some cupcake stitch markers here

Of course you can donate directly to Hope's account - time is of the essence at the moment.

Hope Osborne
38-9009-0002097-00

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"I'd like to do something too"

Then do! There are a range of things you could do to help out.

* Start your own auction and sell something with the money going directly to Hope's family, or make a donation

* Talk to people at your work/church groups about perhaps supporting the Osborne family

* Wellington people - there is someone collecting meals/baking etc on behalf of the Osborne family, email me here for the contact details if you'd like to help with some meals for them. Dairy free meals and baking would be greatly appreciated

* Turn off the computer and go and spend some quality time with the people you love, not to sound soppy, but go and create some wonderful memories with your own kids, grandkids, parents, siblings, friends. Life is so precious.

Winner of the Flood Relief Auction

2011-02-07T11:38:00.000+13:00

I have been very slack of late at updating my blog. I think it's beacuse there are quite a few things to update so it's become a bit daunting. I will get there!

But first things first, the winner of my Kaia Babydoll auction was Deborah and she has kindly sent me a picture of her gorgeous daughter wearing the Babydoll and has given me permission to use her photo. So here is the Kaia Babydoll being worn by its beautiful, happy wee recipient:

Thanks so much Deborah :).

Right, I will be back to update on all the things that have been happening here over the last wee while - I promise! xxx

Auction for the Australian flood victims

2011-01-15T21:40:00.002+13:00

I'd really like to do something to help the tens of thousands of people who have been affected by the flooding in Australia. It's incredible the amount of devastation these floods have caused and tragic that so many people have lost their homes, possessions, pets and so much more. Worse still is the loss of at least 15 lives in this disaster.

It's not much in the scheme of things but every little bit helps, so I am going to be auctioning off one of my knitted dresses, a gorgeous Kaia Babydoll designed by Rachel Evans, with all proceeds going to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal.

A gorgeous wee 6 month size babydoll dress knitted in a lovely soft 100% cotton yarn
from Bendigo Woollen Mills in Australia.

How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $20 (New Zealand).

2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.

3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.

4. This auction is open to everyone, however $10NZ will be charged for International addresses. Postage is FREE for New Zealand residents.

5. The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post the Kaia Babydoll dress to you.

7. Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

Recent creative endeavours

2011-01-06T12:00:00.000+13:00

I've spent the last few weeks busy making stuff - for Christmas and swaps and just for fun. Here are a few of my endeavours:

Christmas decorations:

6 sets of bells for a swap, 3 red and 3 white

I did quite a few stars, but won't bore you with all of them!

A dolly blanket for Tess for Christmas

A cushion for Izzy for Christmas

The cushion on the left is my latest crochet venture - purely for my own fun!

An order done just before Christmas

for the same order as above

A dress for Izzy

I think that's it for the last month - much more to come for this year ...

Endings and new beginnings

2011-01-05T21:57:00.001+13:00

It's been a while since I last blogged and this may be a bit photo heavy (which is going to take me forever as I'm on dial up speed at the moment, sigh!), so bear with me.

2010 was a year of milestones as it was the year my last baby stopped being a baby, sob, gulp, and my biggest baby turned into a teen, sob, gulp.

Tessa graduated from a cot to a bed,

farewelled daytime nappies (I've just packaged up the last of my cloth nappies to rehome) and started kindy.

Fin finished his last year of intermediate school and turned 13 - yikes! Fin played soccer last year and had a great year, being the best goalie in his team, and played consistently well, despite some pretty challenging conditions at times!

Of course, many other things happened in 2010 too - Oliver played for the top soccer team in the year above his age grade and they did really well. Here's him at a tournament in Taupo where his team won the Shield final:

He also played Futsal (a type of indoor soccer) and his team won the championship for the year, and he played indoor soccer and his team came 3rd in the end of season finals. Can you recognise a theme in his activities?!

And Izzy had a great year, both at school and doing the many extracurricular activities she loves, namely netball, soccer, jazz, and ballet as well as participating in the school choir and gardening club. Here's a couple of pics of her at her dance recital on the 18th of December, where she was awarded the ballet trophy for her grade and also received a scholarship for a term's free jazz lessons for this year.

And of course, 2010 was the year of the kittens for us. We lost our precious Charlie Brown in 2009 just before Christmas, so when we had the opportunity to adopt two beautiful wee ginger ninja brothers from the SPCA mid 2010, we jumped at the chance. We named them Eddie (cameo in colour) and Jasper (ginger and slightly fluffier) and they're both beautiful and affectionate wee sweeties. Here's a few pics:

The early days

Curiosity drowned the cat!

That's Jasper and Eddie did the exact same thing about 5 minutes later!!

More recent pics:

Jasper loves cuddles

and Eddie loves baskets!

It's in the bag (well, Eddie is!)

yep, basket again!

while Jasper's just hanging out at home with the family!

Kim's been busy at work this year, with the recession meaning fewer staff but just as much work, so he's been spread pretty thin but survived the year and is now enjoying a break before the onslaught of the new year.

I've also been pretty busy, with constant knitting orders and preparing for Coco Kids first Craft 2.0 in October, which was major for us. We knitted crazily for it and it was very successful and lots of fun. Tessa was worked pretty hard as my number one model for all the test knits and orders I did that were in her size (with Izzy helping out from time to time as well).

This has just been a tiny snippet of our year past, but gives a wee taste of what the year contained for us. 2010 was a good year for us, packed with activity of all kinds. Hopefully 2011 will be just as good - and looks to be twice as busy!

Busy, busy, busy

2010-12-06T12:00:00.000+13:00

How is it that in the month leading up to Christmas, time starts going faster and there are suddenly a million things to do and no time to do them? It's about this time of year that I start remembering all my New Year's resolutions from last Christmas/New Year when I resolved to make gifts throughout the year and be organised and have everything done by the end of November. Ha! Fat chance, lol!
I do have some Christmas gifts organised - the littlest person in the house is mostly sorted (barring finishing the crochet dolls blanket I'm making her, which I'm stitching together right now) and I have a few things for the next smallest person in the house, but the boys are proving to be a challenge. Fin just had his birthday and we went halves with him in an iPod Touch, and he also got some iTunes vouchers for his birthday and a book, so I'm a bit stumped with him. Ollie I have nothing for yet. Gaaaaaah! Panic is beginning to set in!

In the meantime here are a few pics of what I've been up to recently:

Not terribly exciting, but I finally got around to overlocking the edge of my new tablecloth - I really should hem it, but it's ok as is for the meantime.

And I just had to share the stunning view from our living room - these were taken at sunset one day last week. I love how the mountains in the distance (they're the Kaikouras in the South Island) correspond with the cityscape of Island Bay.

We now have a teenager in the house!

2010-12-05T16:02:00.000+13:00

Fin's birthday was on Friday (the 3rd) and he turned 13!! Yikes - I'm a bit horrified that my baby is now thirteen years old. It just seems like yesterday that I was 13 and starting high school, never mind having a child who is 13 and will be heading off to high school next year!

He had a great time with his friends, going bowling and then stopping in at McDonalds for dinner (their choice - blerk!) then home to do teenagery boy things, like hang out on the tramp and chase each other around the backyard.

Here are a few birthday pics (not very exciting and he's still in his school uniform as we hadn't been home since the end of his school day).

The less-than-impressive 'cake'

Can't keep his hands off his new 'toy'!

I've been hearing some horror stories about teenagers lately so am feeling a bit freaked out about this new phase we're entering into. Hopefully he'll ease us into it (although I don't fancy my chances if recent events and behaviour are anything to go by!).

Busy weekend

2010-11-16T18:02:00.003+13:00

Well, I am still exhausted after a very busy weekend. It all started with me crazily trying to finish knitting a test knit for the fabulous tikki (Georgie Hallam) - Darwinia. I adore this pattern and love the finished babydoll that was completed at 2:30am on Saturday morning (although I count it as being finished on Friday night as it would have been had I not been interrupted by all the children's activities that required far too much of my time and attention on Friday afternoon!). It was knit with Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton in Damask Rose (now discontinued). More pictures (and details) on my Ravelry page.

Is this not the cutest wee babydoll/dress??? The newly turned three year old modelling it is pretty cute too of course (although I may be slightly biased ;-) )

Then, Saturday started bright and early as we anxiously checked the skies to see what the day's weather would bring, as we had planned to have Tessa's birthday party (a Teddy Bear's picnic) at our local park, down by the beach. Sadly the weather was marginal (and windy) so we opted to make the decision to have her party at our house instead. This, of course, resulted in a mad flurry of activity as we raced around tidying, cleaning and preparing. Kim disappeared part of the way through this activity, taking Tessa with him, to get some bits and pieces - including the all important cake, which he assured me was under control. He'd told me earlier in the week that he'd take care of the cake, so that would be one less thing I'd need to stress about - but of course that just led to me stressing about what we'd end up with, lol!

Anyhoo, they were supposed to be back by 10:30am (party at 11am) to put finishing touches on everything and greet guests, but ended up arriving at about 11:05am, after one of the guests had already arrived. Older children were then sent off to a bedroom to quickly wrap some Bear Hunt 'treasures' and then hide them in the backyard.

The party was lots of fun, with a wee Bear Hunt, and lots of trampoline jumping, swinging, toy playing with and eating going on.

The boys

Julia's Tim 'resting' with Jasper!

The girls (well, some of them)

The food

The birthday girl

And of course, the cake and beautiful cupcakes that were organised by my lovely friend Jamara and some other friends who all conspired to surprise us with them (with Kim in cohoots with them!)!!

Delicious chocolate crackles made by the lovely Julia

All in all it was a fabulous day, made so by the generosity of so many people - mwah! to you all :-)

And then, I was at work at 7am the next morning, so no rest for the wicked! Whilst at work I got a phone call from my dear friend Justine, who along with her gorgeous family (partner Paul, and two boys, Luca whos' nearly 18 and Connor who's nearly 15) has just begun a nine month long trip WWOOFing around the North Island. Justine was ringing to confirm that they were arriving at our place at around 3 that afternoon to stay that night - I, of course, had completely forgotten!!

This meant that I couldn't go out to Tessa's friend Lucy's birthday party out in Upper Hutt that we'd planned to make it to as soon as I finished work at 2pm. We will make a special trip out there soon though, to take Lucy her birthday pressie and see them one last time before they move to the warmer climate and busy metropolis of Auckland.

Justine, Paul and the boys duly arrived at our place and we spent the afternoon and evening catching up and having a lovely time together. I have to say it's a bit scary seeing how big Justine's boys have grown! At nearly 18, Luca is SO tall - he towers above all the adults, and Connor will probably do the same (and is already taller than me). Justine is a week older than me - so that just makes me feel old as her kids are no longer boys, but young men. And quite terrifying to think I am old enough to actually have kids that age!!

They left on Monday late morning and I sadly (and slightly jealously) farewelled them and returned to my messy house to face the clean up of the weekend's activities and reflect on the many wonderful events (and the odd drama) that occurred over the previous few days. One image that keeps flashing back into my head was when Julia's wee man Tim was on the tramp and just sort of walked right off it!! He'd put his arm out to lean on the net - but we have no net, so the poor wee guy just fell right off :( He was fine after a few sad minutes, but gave us all a bit of a heart attack!

I did take some gorgeous photos of Justine and her family but won't put them up here in case they're not keen on me publishing photos of them (will update with pics, if they're ok with it).

Tessa Turns Three - my baby is growing up!!

2010-11-09T23:16:00.001+13:00

9/11/2007 5lb14oz

9/11/2010

Three years have gone by in the blink of an eye - I can't believe my baby is now three whole years old! We've had a wonderful day today and the weather Gods have played along as well. We started the day with a sleep in from Tess, and then a quick present opening ceremony before the big kids dashed off to school and work. (please excuse the terrible photo of me - I had literally been out of bed about 15 minutes!)

Wellington has had a scorcher of a day and we made the most of it. Tess and I headed down to Oriental Bay and met up with my friend Ange and her gorgeous wee boy Tyler in the morning and the pair of them played happily at the park and on the beach until we had to go our separate ways. Tess was delighted with the really cute wee handbag and ballerina figurine that Tyler gave her.

Then Tess and I met up with my dear friend and Tess's unofficial godmother, Nicki and had a lovely late morning tea with her at The Parade Cafe, which is now situated in an old tugboat and firmly fixed to the rocks so there's no nasty rocking as you attempt to negotiate coffees and fluffies (yes, plural - the first was unceremoniously tipped all over Tess, the chair and the floor!). Tess was spoiled by Nicki - receiving two awesome gifts, a wooden alphabet puzzle and a wooden dominos set.

We had a lovely time all morning, then headed home for a quick lunch then headed off to kindy for more fun in the sun for Tess. She managed to get completely soaked at kindy and had a quick shower when we got home!

Then, after all of that, the day was not over. We had a futsal game to watch (and Ollie's team won!) and then

That's Ollie with the orange top on just before he scored a goal!

we headed over to Kim's mother's (Yiayia) house to celebrate with a wee cake and some more presents! Yiayia has just had knee replacement surgery, so isn't able to move too quickly at the moment - but Tess just spent the whole time dancing around her, lol!

So that was our day! Busy and long, but sunny and fun. Just like our life over the last three years ...

Coco Kids 1st Birthday celebrations

2010-11-04T19:11:00.000+13:00

We've had a very big week at Coco Kids, with Craft 2.0 happening on Saturday, and we celebrated our 1st birthday on Monday the 1st of November. So much has happened since we launched Coco Kids on the 1st of November 2009! We've added many different items to our range of custom knitting items and knitted thousands of metres of yarn since then. It's been fantastic working with Kate and Julia - they're such lovely, talented and productive knitters and I'm proud to call them my friends.

Tonight we go live at 8pm on the Coco Kids blog with our 1st birthday sale. Make sure you head over there and check it out - there are loads of gorgeous items to choose from.

Today I finished another fabric Kaia Babydoll in a size 2 (which will be available on the Coco Kids blog tonight ;-) ). I have a few different fabric choices, and will be making up quite a few of these over the coming weeks - so keep checking back under either the Coco Kids For Sale tab or my one on here.

... Two Days After ...

2010-11-01T17:32:00.000+13:00

I should have posted this on the evening of Craft 2.0, but we had family visiting from out of town, so I had no time then, and then was at work on Sunday, then all the children's Halloween celebrations to co-ordinate! So here we are, two days after the Big Day and I'm finally updating my blog with some pictures and a brief rundown of how our first Craft 2.0 went.

It was a really fun day, with Julia and I being steadily busy throughout the day. We met loads of lovely people, who were very generous with their compliments (which was really lovely to hear :-) ). For first time stall holders, we had a great spot at the top of the stairs, and had plenty of room to spread out - which was lucky as, thanks to Julia's mammoth effort, we had many, many beautiful items to display (as you can see!).

The view from downstairs looking up

Julia

Ali

The Day Before ...

2010-10-29T14:01:00.000+13:00

Okay, just ONE day to go and it's Craft 2.0!! I'm very excited and also a little apprehensive, as this is our first craft market day and we all really want it to be a success. We (Kate, Julia and myself) have all worked really hard and produced some beautiful items over the last couple of months, which I'm sure will sell well.

It's a freezing cold spring day here in Wellington, so I lit the fire this morning in preparation for a day of finishing things. Here are a few pics of my day so far ..

Finishing off another fabric Kaia Babydoll.

And the finished item ...

And here are a few pictures of all my items for Craft 2.0:

I may try and get a couple more things finished before tomorrow, but I have a very busy afternoon ahead, so this may be it. Between the three of us, we have many gorgeous items to choose from, so hopefully the people of Wellington (and whoever may be visiting our lovely city over the weekend) will turn out in droves and buy up large!!

Another Summer Kaia Babydoll

2010-10-27T16:47:00.000+13:00

I'm really loving using my sewing machines again for the first time in what seems like ages. I whipped up another summer Kaia, called 'Owls in the Garden' (for the fabric which has cute wee owls dotted amongst the flowers). It's an 18 month old size but still fits my nearly 3 year old slim wee thing!

This will be available at Craft 2.0 this Saturday and hopefully I'll be whipping up another one before then also. Alternatively, email me at aligknits@gmail.com to order one in your choice of yarn colour and fabric (I currently have a small range to choose from, but am happy to explore further options).

Kaia with a twist

2010-10-26T21:53:00.000+13:00

I have been meaning to try this for quite a while, but finally got my act together today and completed my first fabric Kaia Babydoll. Excuse the picture overload, but I'm really pleased with how this has turned out. It looks blue in the picture, but it's actually a deep purple top with a purple and green flowered skirt.

This one is a size two and Tessa loves it! It will be available for sale (along with a couple of others) at Craft 2.0 THIS Saturday!!

I've also recently finished a Young Einstein in lovely soft Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton, in a size 0 - 3 months:

With Craft 2.0 only 4 days away, the tension and excitement is building here. I feel I have a million things to do, but it's all falling into place nicely and I can't wait for the day to be here!

Sweetheart

2010-10-16T23:22:00.000+13:00

I had great intentions of posting every day this month, for Blogtoberfest, but have failed miserably. However, I have probably already posted more this month than any other in recent history - so it's all good!

Anyway, as it's late and I have to get up at 6 to be at work for 7 tomorrow morning (boo hiss), I'll get to the point - my most recent finished object for Craft 2.0. Meet 'Sweetheart', a very sweet wee Kaia Babydoll, from designer Rachel Evans, in a size 6 months. I'm not sure what yarn it is, but it's lovely and soft. I attempted a different lace panel at the bottom this time - it's supposed to be wee hearts (hence the name ;-) ), but I was seriously running out of yarn, so finished a couple of rows too early. However I actually prefer the lace panel that this has created and think it fits perfectly.

This Babydoll is truely a one of a kind as I only have a tiny bit of the yarn left, and have no idea of the origin of the yarn as I bought it in a destash of an Aussie knitter on Ravelry. It's been hand dyed and that, combined with the different lace panel, means replicating this particular Babydoll would be extremely difficult.

Coco Kids at Craft 2.0

2010-10-13T12:00:00.011+13:00

Coco Kids has been spotlighted on the Craft 2.0 blog, so pop on over there and check us out. It's getting exciting now - the countdown to the Big Day! I have to admit I'm a little nervous and hope that the general public (otherwise known as the discerning shoppers at Craft 2.0) love our work as much as we love creating it!

With far too many beautiful items left to create, I am madly knitting so that I will have a range of items to choose from. Julia, who is just amazing with the speed she can knit, has created some adorable items, as has the lovely Kate and I'm hoping to have a few more by the time the 30th rolls around as well - and between us we will have a stall of gorgeous items - something for everyone!

Magic Adam

2010-10-12T21:34:00.000+13:00

I am slowly amassing a good collection of Anchor Magicline cottons - only I'm going to be too afraid to actually knit them up as Anchor Magicline has been discontinued and once it's gone, it's gone baby! Anyway, this is a colourway I don't love (and have 10 balls of) so I thought I'd knit it into an Eden's Adam, by designer Georgie Hallam (tikki on Ravlery). It's actually knit up much better than I anticipated and I really like the finished product!

This one's a size 2 and is a perfect summer top.

Owly Milo

2010-10-10T23:19:00.000+13:00

Just a very quick update from me. I recently knit my first ever Milo, by tikki (Georgie Hallam), and I can't believe I've never knit one before! It is a really fun knit - quick and easy with great results. This one is a newborn size, but knit in 10 ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn, so after blocking it turned out to be about a 0 -3 month size - perfect for the wee boy it is for.

This is for an old family friend and I'm really hoping she loves it as much as I do! I'll definitely be knitting more of these and experiment with a few different cable options.

Blogtober fest fail!

2010-10-08T11:30:00.000+13:00

Yikes! I think I'm supposed to be posting everyday during October, but have failed miserably already! Ah well, I'll do what I can and that'll be fine :)

The school holidays are nearly over and we've done very little in the way of activities outside the house this time, as I've been sick with a nasty cold that has lingered for a week and a half so far. The kids have been amazing though, with the boys going off to play soccer down at the school, or doing things with friends, and Izzy having play dates with friends as well. We've had a few sleepovers, with the kids going to friends for them and having friends here. So, although we haven't 'done' a lot, the kids have been happy and relaxed and so have I - most of the time! Of course, there have been some rather aggravating sibling rivalry moments, and some mother/child 'discussions' (possibly slightly heated at times!), but overall it's been quite pleasant.

Knitting-wise I'm so far behind in getting enough stock for Craft 2.0 it's freaking me out slightly (well, a lot!) but I can only do what I can do, so I'm plodding along. I will have stuff to sell, but just not as much as I'd ideally like.

I'm also quite keen to do some sewing, but my poor sewing machines (yes, plural) have been sadly neglected of late. Come November all that will change and I shall be having some fun - some selfish knitting and sewing will be going on, to create some lovely items for my kids, my family and friends. Christmas is fast approaching, so I'd better get my A into G for that too! Wouldn't it be nice if time could just slow down a bit sometimes?!

I have finished one item in the last few days - yes, another for Craft 2.0. It's another Kaia Babydoll, knitted in BWM cotton and striped this time, just for a change. It's a size 12 months (not a great picture, as it's still got ends to sew in and hasn't been blocked yet).

Right, I'd better go and get organised and take the girls out of the house for a bit as both boys have gone to a friend's house for a while.

Paige Babydoll

2010-10-04T20:27:00.001+13:00

I thought I'd already blogged about this, but when I went to look I realised I haven't! So here we go ...

I currently have the cottage licenses for Rachel Evans' Kaia Babydoll and Spring Butterfly and recently I was delighted to test a sister Babydoll to the Kaia - the Paige Babydoll by Rachel Evans. It was a pleasure to knit, especially as I was using some lovely soft yarn from 100Purewool in the Santino colourway.

There are two options with this gorgeous wee babydoll top - a full skirt option and a cabled option (which is what I did). It's due for release soon, so keep an eye out - it's a lovely quick knit which looks lovely on and is practical for all year round wear. It can be knit in sizes newborn to 5T.

Blossom Bolero

2010-10-03T17:17:00.000+13:00

Another test knit for me! This time the gorgeous pattern is from designer Katherine Oxlade-Knack (StitchyMama on Ravelry) and I had fun with this cute wee bolero cardiagn - it's perfect for over cute dresses or as a slightly warmer layer in summer. This 18 month sized, long sleeved version is knit in WOOLganics 100% organic merino yarn and has a picot trim. I can't wait to knit it again with the bell pleat finish and short sleeved, as I think it's so cute and practical at the same time.

I managed to mess up the edge a little bit, so the buttons are probably slightly further apart than they should be, but I'll get it perfect next time - it was a case of me not concentrating properly and doing it late at night!

I really love this pattern, and if you think it would be a great pattern to add to my custom collection, let me know - make a comment on this post.

Blogtober Fest!!

2010-10-01T22:33:00.000+13:00

Well, now it's October it seems Blogtober Fest is in full swing already! I am delighted to have been selected for an award by the lovely Kate - thanks hun :) I accept!

Now here are the rules:

1. Accept the award. (Post it on your blog along with the name and link of the person who has awarded it to you.)

2. Pay it forward to between 5 and 15 other bloggers whom you’ve recently discovered.
3. Contact the bloggers and let them know that they have been chosen.

Here’s My List:

1. The Bird's Nest

2. Just One WIP

3. Found in the Sea

4. Tales of the Redheaded Devil Child

5. Purdy Peas

Two new custom knits

2010-10-01T21:01:00.000+13:00

Recently I've been fortunate to have test knitted both the Cassia tunic/dress by designer Georgi Hallam (tikki on Ravelry) and the Yacht Club Skirt by designer Elena Nodel (Anadiomena on Ravelry). I am very happy to announce that both of these talented designers have gifted me the Cottage Licenses to knit these lovely patterns to sell!

Both of these garments are great all year round and can be knitted using either wool or cotton to accommodate the different seasons.

Email me at: aligknits@gmail.com to order (custom slots now open for November).

Cassia

Yacht Club Skirt

Sunset in Spring

2010-09-29T22:02:00.001+13:00

I finished this cute wee Spring Butterfly, by designer Rachel Evans, a week or two ago, but have just been dragging my heels to get it blocked and buttons on. But I got there in the end, and her it is:

It's a 12 month size knit using The Wool Company's Sunset variegated yarn, and Amethyst solid colour yarn.

It's such a great pattern for all seasons as it can be worn with just a t-shirt underneath for the warmer weather, or a long sleeved thermal for the cooler months.

This is another addition to my Craft 2.0 stockpile.

Another test knit

2010-09-07T13:07:00.000+12:00

I was very lucky to be selected to test knit another gorgeous design by Georgi Hallam. This is Cassia - a really sweet top/tunic/dress that can be knitted with wool or cotton to create an extremely versatile piece of clothing, suitable to wear all year round. I've used a cashmere/merino blend yarn which is lovely and soft. It was a really enjoyable knit and Tess loves the pockets!

Knitting crazily for Craft 2.0

2010-09-07T11:26:00.000+12:00

I haven't yet mentioned on here that the Coco Kids have a table at Craft 2.0 on October 30th and we're very excited about it! It's on at the Dowse Art Gallery in Lower Hutt from 10am - 3pm. If you're in the area please come and support us on the day!

Consequently, I am madly knitting trying to gather enough stock to have for sale on the day. My knitting speed has increased a bit, but still not up to where I'd like it to be - but practice makes perfect, so I'm busy practising ;)

Here is what I have made so far:

Kaia Babydoll 6m size in wool

Eden's Adam, 3m size in cotton

Spring Butterfly 18m size in wool

Spring Butterfly, 6m size in wool

Kaia Babydoll, 6m size in cotton

Watch this space for further updates ....

Yacht Club Skirt

2010-08-19T12:20:00.001+12:00

I've been doing a few test knits for some fabulous designers recently - and here's another one! This one is from talented designer Elena Nodel. This skirt is gorgeous and great for winter or summer. The pattern itself is easy to follow - even the cable charts, which I'd never used before. I'm really happy with how it's turned out and Tessa loves it too. It comes in a range of sizes from 0-6 months right up to a 10-12 year old size and can be knit in either 8 ply or 10 ply. I'm very confident I'll be knitting this skirt again - Izzy wants one too!

Tess-ting!

2010-08-18T09:55:00.000+12:00

I completed another of Julia's gorgeous new Teacher's Pet dresses recently, as a final test of the new pattern. I love this one, but couldn't get any modelled pictures for a while as Tessa was sick with the Swine Flu. She's much better now though, and I managed to get some pictures the other day, between rain showers!

I used Paton's Merino yarn and hand dyed it, and used Bendigo Woollen Mills for the trim. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I can see us getting a lot of wear out of this dress.

Vest Test

2010-07-26T21:08:00.000+12:00

I love test knits! I have one more I will be casting on in the next day or two as well, but this is one I finished recently that has to be one of the quickest knits I've done in a while. It is the brainchild of Julie Gilliver and is a very clever design that involves no seaming (the best kind of pattern!) and can be knit in 8, 10 or 12 ply yarn. I knit this one in 12 ply, but my trim was bulkier than the main yarn, so it doesn't look quite as streamlined as it could do. I really like it however, and will post the link to the pattern once it's been released. This one was knit using Wicked Knits 12 ply yarn in the Little Boy Blue colourway.

Izzy's Oriental Lily

2010-07-26T20:43:00.000+12:00

Waaaaaay back in January I did a test knit for the fabulous Tikki - she needed the larger sizes of the very popular Oriental Lily tested, but only until after the obi. So I duly knitted my test until just after the obi and then stopped (due to other custom orders, birthdays, life, etc) and it stayed at that point until a few days ago when I had a small breather between orders and test knits. I finally finished it and luckily it still fits the very patient Izzy perfectly - and she loves it, which is an added bonus, lol!

This is a size 6 with added length, as Izzy is 8 but quite petite. It is knit using The Wool Company's Sunset with Amethyst trim.

Teacher's Pet

2010-07-22T12:27:00.001+12:00

This is Julia's newest pattern and I have been itching to write about and show pictures of this gorgeous pattern since I finished knitting it, but needed to wait until the pattern is nearly ready for release - which it is now!! I LOVE this pattern! It's such a cute, girly dress, with so many options. It's at least 3 different dresses in the one pattern - it can be knit with a full skirt, like this one, or with two different types of pleats. The one I have done is from version 1 of the test pattern and is with the scalloped pleats. It has a couple more pleats than the finished pattern, which enables it to twirl really nicely. Tess loves it too, and is constantly asking to wear it - so it's obviously comfortable for her as well. The other pleat type is a box pleat, which is wider at the top, and flatter overall (which is what I'm going to knit next!).

This one is a size 18 -24 months, or 20" chest measurement. It's knit using Ruby Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn in 8 ply. Because this yarn is very soft and has a propensity to 'grow' I knitted this a bit shorter than the pattern suggested and it 'grew' to the perfect length when blocked. I can't wait to cast on my next one!

This pattern will be released very soon - and I'm sure will be a hit as it's a great design and a fun knit.

Hotshot Vestee

2010-07-22T11:41:00.000+12:00

A while ago I got some sewing machine feet from a friend for a machine I picked up secondhand from our local recycling shop at the tip (yeah, sounds worse than it is!). We agreed on a swap rather than money changing hands, so I knit her wee boy one of Julia's newly released patterns, the Hotshot Vestee. I have it here modelled on Tessa, but I will hopefully be able to load a couple of pictures of him wearing it, once she's received it and modelled it on him.

I really love these patterns - easy to follow and so practical and versatile! I might need to knit another one like this for Tessa when I get a chance. This one is a size 18 - 24 months, knit with Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury in 8 ply. The colourway is Olive Moss.

I am able to custom knit all of Julia's new patterns, so if you'd like one knitted for you send me an email and I will give you details of prices and availability. At this stage I'll be knitting madly for Craft 2.0 in October, so custom slots will be very limited.

Amy's Galore!

2010-07-02T12:36:00.000+12:00

I have just finished an order for a 2 year old sized Amy Pinafore and a matching Pinny for a Dolly, both by designer Kelly Brooker . Lots of fun to create a little matching set - a great birthday gift for a wee princess :) I loved the yarn, which was provided by the customer, and the set was a delight to knit. I think I may have to knit a few of these wee sets as gift sets for Christmas!

The Amy Pinafore

The Pinny for a Dolly

Both together - awww!

The Pinny for a Dolly being modelled!

For more in formation, or to order either of these items, or any from Kelly Brooker's fabulous March Sisters range, email me here.

The March Sisters - Meg

2010-06-25T21:20:00.000+12:00

This is my first Meg Pinafore from Kelly Brooker's range of gorgeous pinafores, published in The March Sisters eBook. I have done an Amy previously and am currently doing another one, and I love these patterns! I'm really looking forward to doing the other two in this series, but for now here is my Meg, knitted in a size 4-5 using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn. The photos really don't do this lovely pinafore justice.

New additions to our family!

2010-06-12T22:48:00.000+12:00

Meet Jasper (or maybe Jethro)

and Eddie (or maybe Van)!!

On Wednesday we were very fortunate to welcome into our family two little feline babies. The SPCA was running a promotion on Friday to help clear their backlog of cats and kittens. Instead of the usual fee to adopt a cat/kitten they were giving them away for free on Friday and the kittens are desexed, vaccinated, wormed, defleaed and microchipped (the usual fee for a kitten is $210).

I decided to go in on Wednesday and see what they had there, so that if any of the wee darlings appealed I could be there first thing Friday. Well, Tessa and I went in and the only kittens that were quite young (which is what we were looking for) were two wee ginger tabbies that were about 9 weeks old (brothers) - the rest were about 4/5 months old. The wee ginger ones (well, one is cameo - a slightly paler ginger) were very cute and active, so I picked up Fin and Ollie from school (Izzy was at a friend's) and we went back so they could see if they liked them.

I was told that if we wanted them we could take them that day and they would not charge us (as I'd mentioned about the Free Feline Friday). The boys were very keen (as in, begging!), so I told the assistant that we would like to adopt them both, but could we collect them on Thursday morning as we had no transport cages with us. She instantly produced two transport boxes and said we could take them in those, so we did! Each box also contained a hand knitted blanket for us to keep - how awesome is that?!

I certainly was not expecting to come home with two kittens when I'd gone in that day and we feel very lucky, as some friends went in on Friday but missed out because all the kittens had been adopted already.

Our babies were even tv stars for a day! They featured on Close Up when they did a segment about the SPCA promotion. It was quite weird watching them on TV while they played at our feet in our living room! They are very cute and ultra energetic and playful - heaps of fun. The kids adore them already and they've been so good - no accidents (touch wood).

Little Hoodlum

2010-06-12T22:14:00.000+12:00

I have recently been lucky enough to test knit a fantastic new pattern from my friend and 'partner' Julia Stanfield. I tested Little Hoodlum for her, but Julia will be releasing a series of patterns in an eBook very soon. This one is for a customer, but I modelled it on Tessa and I love it! I think I need to knit another in similar colours for Tess as it suited her so much!

The pattern is fun and quick to knit, has a multitude of options and looks awesome knitted using solid colours, semi-solid colours, stripes, with or without the hood, with or without sleeves, etc. I'll be knitting many of these in its various forms I can tell!

Milo Mitts

2010-06-07T13:38:00.000+12:00

I have just completed (and super fast!) a pair of Milo Mitts for a customer, whose little girl requested pink ones - so pink they are! I knitted most of these up while at work (naughty, naughty!) and I made the cable an owl cable. They're a size 4, but fit my 8 year old, so obviously can last for some time. These are modelled on my 2 year old, so look a little big on her.

I am running a bit of a special deal on these at the moment - they'll be $15 per pair, including postage for a limited time. Contact me to order these cute wee mitts.

Some recent orders

2010-06-02T13:55:00.002+12:00

I've been fairly busy recently with custom knitting orders, and here are the results:

This is a Diane Soucy Easy Baby Cardigan for a workmate's little grand daughter. I'm really pleased with this one, but I forgot to take a picture of the final item, with a very cute little button sewed into the middle of the crochet flower. I used 8 ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn for this one:

This is an Eden's Adam knitted as a custom order. It's knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton and I've added a kangaroo pocket, as requested by my customer. I made a couple of small errors with this one, and I'm not too thrilled with it, but I'm happy with the overall look - just need to spend some time perfecting some techniques.

And from a fellow TNNer's (and Raveller) new pattern - a very cute pattern for fingerless mittons for littlies. I entered Sam's Snippets Competition for her Easy Kids Hand Warmers and here is the result. Tessa wanted blue ones and she chose the flowers as an embellishment. She loves these - and has been wearing them constantly since I finished them!

Before embellishment:

After embellishment:

I've also recently completed a really cute hoodie as a test knit for Julia, but pictures of that won't be posted until after release of the pattern. I will say, though, that it is very cute and such a cool pattern! Watch this space ...

My first Looking Glass Longies

2010-06-02T13:22:00.000+12:00

On the crafty weekend away I started my first ever pair of Looking Glass Longies - using the lovely soft Possum Merino yarn provided by my customer. I'd just like to say that this pattern is sheer genius! Being in a large room surrounded by many other crafty women all chatting and crafting away and trying to cast on and grapple with the first part of these longies was a bit of a mission I must say, but with the help and advice of the other lovely knitters who have knitted these before, I managed to do it - error free!

The construction of these longies is amazing - if you haven't knitted them before it's quite mystifying how they're going to work, but wow! Very, very cool. I was a tad worried that these might be a bit small for the recipient, but they fit really well, with enough room for growth.

I'm looking forward to knittting many more of these, using different yarns and colourways - they're perfect for winter for day wear and also fabulous at night over cloth nappies. Feel free to contact me for information about pricing and sizing of these very cool longies.