Still here...

I reckon she's waiting for me to finish the curtains in her room that I'm making outof this cool birdy fabric.

New projects

Yet another thing for me to start and never finish!

By the way this is a good time for me to mention that I still haven't got around to finishing the questions for April's meme. Sorry April!! And hi! Do you know how few things there are out there starting with R? I am finding that out! I thought I might cheat and do this one of yours instead - I believe in the psychic power of iPod. :)

Anyway, back to the new project.

I got the cute little coffee table above from Reverse Garbage in Marrickville - this place is fantastic. They sell a whole bunch of recycled junk that nobody else wants. Stuff like the usual old crap that people have chucked from their house, but also a whole shed full of manufacturing leftovers like bits of fabric, metal sheeting, timber, etc, etc. As well as this table I picked up a big bag of fabric samples originally used to show new dress fabrics to Sydney fashion houses. I have a few quilting/patchworking ideas for all the different coloured squares. The table is going to get a new paint job, so I'll post it up again when that's done.

There's been some other serious crafting business going on in our household as well. Hubby has been designing kites - the one he's making at the moment is big enough to lift you off the ground. So a lot of sewing going on and he's been competing with me for the sewing machine. I'm thinking maybe we need a second machine like an overlocker or something. I have a whole pile of sewing going on myself as I've been making all sorts of goodies in preparation for the opening of my new Etsy store! I won't give you the link just yet - I'll post it up when I've got my products online. At the moment it's just a shopfront. Basically, I love making bright coloured things for kids but since I don't have any of my own I needed an outlet, somewhere for all these things to go...hopefully someone out there will give a home to some of the clothes and doodads I whip up. Otherwise I don't know what I'll do with the growing stacks. ;)

PS Interesting note: Etsy just got the Jim Hensen (you remember the muppets) Honor for Community. And speaking of muppets - PIC, here's an Etsy link for you. Just your thing I think.

The unbearable cuteness of being: FO and WIP

It's been raining for yonks now, which is great, not only because I love love love the rain and crazy stormy weather but also coz it means I'm kept inside sewing.

And what have I been obsessively sewing? More little teeny estrogen-inducing dresses. Them's so cute I can't bear it.

I fiddled with the prototype of the flowery one from the other week. There were a few things about it I thought needed polishing. Here's the new version:

And the back:

Now I'm trying a different colourway, one that I think is maybe more what I would pick for my own bub if I had one:

closeup:

back:

I worked out the size is for a one year old, wearable from about 6mths to 18mths.

On the drawing board...

It's weeks since I posted but rest assured while I've been holed away in my den I have been up to some crafty things. My Mum gave me a pile of her old sewing patterns for children's toys at Christmas time. Things I remember her making when I was a little girl. Saggy-bottomed frogs with beady little button eyes. Stuffed rabbits and hand-puppets made from scraps of fabric that I recognised from my old worn-out dresses and in new quilts she'd also made from them. When it came to craft, and most things in fact, my Mum was nothing if not resourceful. And still is I might say. So it was no surprise to find her paper patterns cut from discarded architectural drawings made by my father years before.

It's going to be a challenge to make some of these though, to say the least. Most of the patterns have been designed by Mum herself, or copied out of magazines sometime in the seventies. There are no instructions for how to put the pieces together, and in some instances it's hard to tell whether something is a leg or an arm, an ear or a belly section, or what the finished product should resemble. On the phone to Mum I tentatively announced that I would try out the pile of pieces labelled "March Hare". Her response was "Yes, I found that one a little tricky". This coming from my crafting mentor is a foreboding message. Nevertheless, I'll give it a burl. The pieces are cut and ready to go - I just have to figure out which bit to start with first:

Now, to knitting. I haven't really been into it lately. A few months back I got myself into an absolute tizz trying to get through my first piece of lace. I've abandoned that now, and whilst I might one day go back to the complicated stuff, for now all I want knitting for is a bit of fun. Something mindless to watch telly by. And when I say mindless I really mean it. Here's the start of a tea cosy. It's just gonna be two squares stitched up. If I get really crazy I might shape the top but don't bet on it. For now I'm going to be the girl who makes stuff from squares.

I won't get much of it done for a few days though as I'm sick again - nothing serious, but just enough to make me curl up in a ball and feel sorry for myself instead of doing stuff. And enough to stop me going to Stitch n Bitch, which means noone egging me on to knit more. I'll get there in my own good time. But don't hold your breath.